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Phytochemical Screening of the Flower and Leaf Extracts of Emex australis from Jammu District (J&K, India): A Preliminary Analysis

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Abstract

Emex australis Steinh. reportedly a new record for Jammu District (J&K, India) belongs to family Polygonaceae. It is found growing in different habitats of diverse nature such as paddocks, roadsides, railway tracks, old homesteads, fallow lands, barren lands and gardens. In spite of being unaware about the biochemical constituents present in the leaves and roots of the species, many South African and Saudi Arabian tribes use them as a traditional cure for many diseases. To evaluate this taxon for its phytochemical composition, leaf extracts were prepared in three solvents (distilled water, acetone and methanol) while that of flowers exclusively in distilled water. For estimation of sterols, extracts of leaves and flowers were prepared in petroleum ether. The crude extracts were then subjected to specific color tests. Overall 13 of 20 bioactives were present in leaves. These are phenols, flavonoids, saponins, anthocyanides, alkaloids, phlobatannins, terpenoids, flavonols, sterols, steroids, betacyanin, coumarins and acids. Five of these, namely phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, flavonols and coumarins, were present in leaf extracts irrespective of the solvent used. Saponins, alkaloids, acids and sterols were present in both male and female flowers. However, some others were specific to male and some to female flowers.

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Fig. 1

Abbreviations

J&K:

Jammu and Kashmir

BG:

University campus

DE:

Directorate of Distance Education

m:

Metre

°C:

Degree Celsius

UV:

Ultra violet

DPPH:

1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl

mg/g:

Milligram per gram

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Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to the Head (UGC-SAP, DRS-I), Department of Botany, University of Jammu, for providing the necessary laboratory and library facilities. Financial assistance of a part of this work was provided from the project sanctioned to the senior author by DBT, New Delhi. The anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their valuable suggestions and comments.

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180006, India

    Deepak Gupta & Veenu Kaul

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  1. Deepak Gupta
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  2. Veenu Kaul
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Correspondence to Deepak Gupta.

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Significance statement Many tribes utilize this plant widely without having knowledge of bioactives in traditional medicinal systems. Thus, analysis of its different parts for phytochemicals will boost the potential of this bioresource in pharmaceutical sector. The present communication is one step towards achieving this objective. Quantitative analysis of these compounds is currently in progress.

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Gupta, D., Kaul, V. Phytochemical Screening of the Flower and Leaf Extracts of Emex australis from Jammu District (J&K, India): A Preliminary Analysis. Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. 44, 359–363 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-020-01012-z

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