GC-MS (Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy) analysis of methanol leaf extract of Rhododendron arboreum Sm. of District Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Plants are a rich source of secondary metabolites or chemical constituents with interesting biological activities. Therefore, a thorough validation of the herbal agents has emerged as a new branch of science emphasizing and prioritizing the standardization of the natural drugs and products because several of these phytochemicals have complementary and overlapping mechanism of action. Mass spectrometry coupled with chromatographic separations such as Gas chromatography (GC-MS) is generally used for direct analysis of components existing in traditional medicines and medicinal plants. Gas chromatography separates the components of the mixture and mass spectroscopy analyses each of these components separately. In recent years, GC-MS studies have been increasingly applied for the analysis of medicinal plants as this technique has proved to be a valuable method for the analysis of non-polar components, volatile essential oils, fatty acids, lipids, alkaloids etc. The present study was aimed to find out the bioactive compounds present in methanol extract of Rhododendron arboreum Sm. by using Gas chromatography and Mass spectroscopy. GC-MS chromatogram showed 10 peaks indicating the presence of ten phytochemical constituents in this plant. The results revealed Limonene (18.48%), Caryophyllene (13.01%), 3-Heptanoicacid methyl ester (11.00%) and Phenol, 2-(2-methyl-2-propenyl) (5.52%) as the major components in the methanol extract. The results support the use of R. arboreum in traditional medicines for controlling bacterial, degenerative and other diseases. Thus, the present study approves the medicinal value of this plant and scientifically validates it for use as a component of medicinal preparations.
 Keywords: Rhododendron arboreum, methanol, leaf extract, phytochemicals, Gas chromatography and Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS)