Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE SECONDARY METABOLITES PRESENT IN THE ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA LEAVES USING GC-MS TECHNIQUE

Dhivya R.* and Manimegalai K.1

ABSTRACT

Natural products have been a major source of drugs for centuries. In the last few decades there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicines. Medicinal plants and herbs contain substances known to modern and ancient civilizations for their healing properties. Plants produce chemical compounds as part of their normal metabolic activities. These metabolites are the source of active principles capable of curing health ailments. There is an increasing interest in the bioactive potential of compounds derived from plants, which could be relevant in relation to their role in health and disease. The aim of the present study is to analyze the active constituents present in the ethanol extract of Calotropis gigantea leaf by phytochemical analysis and GC- MS technique. GC-MS analysis of C. gigantea leaf ethanol extract showed a high complexity profile, containing many bioactive components. As these compounds may have multiple pharmacological activities the results confirms that the ethanolic extract of C. gigantea may have efficient therapeutic potency. However, isolation of individual phytochemical constituents may proceed to find a novel drug.

Keywords: Phytochemical analysis, GC-MS, Calotropis gigantea, plant, drug.