Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF SYNEPHRINE IN THE FRUIT PEELS OF IRAQI SOUR ORANGE.

Ali Rahman Jasim*, Ahmed Abbas Hussein? and Abdul- Mutalib A. G. Nasser

ABSTRACT

Citrus aurantium (sour orange) of the Rutaceae family is growing widely in Iraq. Literature survey revealed that there was no phytochemical study concerning the alkaloids of Citrus aurantium fruits in Iraq. Literature data also revealed that citrus genus is a good source of synephrine. Synephrine from citrus genus has become of particular importance due to its broad spectrum of therapeutic activities, including antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral activities in addition to its use for weight reduction; therefore a research on Iraqi Citrus aurantium fruit peels will be of important value. This study is concerned with the extraction, identification, isolation, purification and quantitative estimation of synephrine in Iraqi Citrus aurantium fruit peels. Extraction was carried out by Soxhlet apparatus. The isolated compound was identified by melting point (M.P.) measurement, thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Elemental microanalysis (CHN) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analysis. This study confirms the presence of synephrine in the fruit peels of Iraqi Citrus aurantium.

Keywords: Citrus aurantium, Synephrine, TLC, HPLC.