Abstract

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BACOSIDE FRACTION FROM BACOPA MONNIERI

Manoharan Mohana and Palghat Raghunathan Padma*

ABSTRACT

Bacopa monnieri is an important Ayurvedic plant and is traditionally used in the treatment of various disorders. The major therapeutic chemical constituents of this plant are the triterpenoid saponins, bacosides. Bacoside A and B are shown to possess potent antioxidant, anticancer and memory enhancing properties. In the present study, bacoside fraction was prepared from the dried powder of the aerial parts of Bacopa monnieri. The bacoside fraction was characterized by various techniques such as HPTLC, HPLC and XRD to identify the presence of bacoside A in the isolated bacoside fraction. From the results, it clearly showed that the active component bacoside A, saponin, was present in the bacoside fraction isolated from Bacopa monnieri.

Keywords: Bacopa monnieri, bacoside fraction and characterization.