Comparative Phytochemical Profiling and Quantification of Mangiferin Content in Species of Salacia from Southern Western Ghats of India

Abstract

Many species of the genus Salacia L. are used in traditional Indian systems of medicines for their anti-diabetic potential. In this study, we carried out a comparative phytochemical evaluation of the roots of nine species of Salacia viz. S. agasthiamalana, S. beddomei, S. brunoniana, S. chinensis, S. fruticosa, S. gambleana, S. malabarica, S.oblonga and S. wayanadica, which are distributed in the Southern Western Ghats. Qualitative profiling showed the presence of different phytochemicals. Subsequently quantification of mangiferin, the prominent anti-diabetic molecule was carried out using HPLC in all these species. S. brunoniana (2.586 mg/g of dry root) showed maximum mangiferin content, followed by S. beddomei (2.195), S. chinensis (1.57), S. fruticosa (1.055), S. oblonga (0.305), S. agasthiamalana (0.086), S. malabarica (0.0296), S. gambleana (0.0218) and S. wayanadica (0.0005). The presence of mangiferin in S. agasthiamalana, S. beddomei, S. brunoniana, S. gambleana, S. malabarica and S. wayanadica, are reported for the first time. The study identified that S. brunoniana and S. beddomei could be the most promising raw material for anti-diabetic drug formulations based on mangiferin content.