Assessment of phytochemical enhancement in Catharanthus roseus by silver nanoparticle

Abstract

Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle) is an ornamental plant belonging to the Apocynaceae family which is regarded as a rich source of pharmaceutically important terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs). Among these, vinblastine and vincristine are of particular importance because of their wide use in cancer chemotherapy. The present study deals with the preliminary phytochemical screening which reveals the presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Carbohydrates, Saponins, Steroids, Glycosides, Phenols and Tannins in the aqueous extract of the leaf of Catharanthus roseus. The aim of this analysis is to see the significant increase in the amount of production of secondary metabolites in the leaves of Catharanthus roseus. The plant was exposed to silver nanoparticle in the concentration of 0.33 g/kg of soil for three days, resulting in an increase in the amount of secondary metabolites. Qualitative analysis showed the maximum increase of carbohydrate from (83.66 to 261.1 mg/ml) content and Saponins from (8.78 to 40.82 mg/ml) after the application of silver nanoparticles. There was great amplification in alkaloids, phenol and steroid content from (0.006 to 0.187 mg/ml), (0.024 to 0.115mg/ml) and (4.85 mg/ml to 14.88 mg/ml) respectively. Flavanoids content in nanoparticle applied extract of leaves (0.681 mg/ml) showed nearly six times higher concentration than the control plant (0.187 mg/ml).The overall study reveals that the nanoparticles play an important role in augmenting the quantity of secondary metabolites in the leaves and roots of Catharanthus roseus in a substantial manner.