Abstract

CHEMICAL FINGERPRINTING OF SPILANTHES ACMELLA L. (Murr.) - AN ACUTELY THREATENED MEDICINAL PLANT OF PHARMACEUTICAL IMPORTANCE BY HPTLC, FTIR AND UV-VIS SPECTROSCOPIC TOOLS

T. S. Preetha*, S. Neethu Mohan, P. M. Najeena and S. R. Deepthi

ABSTRACT

Spilanthes acmella L. (Murr.) belonging to Family Asteraceae is an acutely threatened plant species with potent medicinal applications. This paper describes phytochemical prospecting of S. acmella that attributes to the chemical fingerprinting of this high sought medicinal plant. The profiling was performed based on standardized procedures using fresh and powdered samples as well as different solvent extracts in hexane, acetone, methanol and distilled water. The profiling of the powdered sample using IR spectroscopy showed the presence of carbohydrates, phenols, lipids, amides (alkamides), alkanes, alkenes, etc. in the whole plant part. The preliminary screening tests indicated several bioactive compounds in different solvent extracts viz. alkaloids, glycosides, flavanoids, tannins, phlobatannins, iridoids, terpenoids, steroids, coumarins, anthraquinones and saponins in the whole plant part. Least number of phytochemicals were present in acetone extract, while methanol extract exhibited maximum number of them. The predominant phytochemicals present in the plant are carbohydrates (10.6±0.15 mgg-1) and phenols (6.02±0.04 mgg-1) as per quantitative analysis. The HPTLC fingerprint as obtained with two solvent extracts in the present study can be made suitable for confirming the identity and purity of medicinal plant raw materials in further studies. The study necessitates a thorough screening and characterization with modern tools and techniques for the preparation of effective herbal drugs which may lead to the cure of many ailments in the future.

Keywords: Spilanthes acmella, phytochemical profiling, FTIR spectroscopy, HPTLC.