Abstract

BIO-POTENTIALS OF ACROTREMA ARNOTTIANUM WIGHT. – AN ENDEMIC MEDICINAL HERB OF SOUTHERN WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA, SOUTH INDIA

Anil Kumar V. S.*, Sunila A. V., S. Anil Kumar, Remya Krishnan and
Greeshma R. B.

ABSTRACT

The phytochemical profiling of Acrotrema arnottianum Wight. an endemic traditional herb was attempted. The nutritional as well as anti nutritional factors were evaluated and it has been found that leaves of the plant are rich in proteins, amino acids and vitamins. While the vitamins A and E showed a higher value, vitamin C was lesser. The phenolic content was significantly higher than many therapeutic herbs and the phenolic acids were further fractionated using RP-HPLC. The chromatogram reveals the presence of major phenolic acids like gallic acid, syringic acid, rutin, vanillate and caffeic acid. The relatively low tannin content has been interpreted as an added advantage as higher tannin contents were reported to reduce the food values. The moderately higher level of flavonoids could be attributed to its antioxidant potentiality. Carotenoid was higher than chlorophylls. FTIR spectral data was also interpreted in terms of the functional chemical groups present in leaf tissues, which further suggests the medicinal potential of the species.

Keywords: Acrotrema arnottianum, Nutritional factors, Phenols, Vitamins, FTIR spectra.