Phytochemical evaluation and Chemical characterization of Bauhinia variegata L. bark extract by TGA/ DSC, FT-IR and GC-MS analytical techniques: Pharmaceutical Aspects

Abstract

Bauhinia variegata (Linn.), Caesalpiniaceae, known as Kachnar in Ayurvedic texts has been shown to have promising anticancer potential. The presence of bioactive molecules in plants which can be commercialized has led to research in knowing their chemical properties. Previous studies from our laboratory have validated the claim of anticancer property of Bauhinia variegata by providing biochemical evidence for the effect of petroleum ether bark extract (PEBE) and chloroform bark extract (CBE) on A549 and H460 lung cancer cell lines respectively. This work aimed at the application of various analytical techniques (thermal analysis, Fourier infrared transform spectroscopy and GC-MS) in the characterization of dried extracts of Bauhinia variegata with medicinal properties. TG-DSC-FTIR-GC-MS was applied to monitor the thermal stability and chemical properties of Bauhinia variegata bark extracts. The TG analysis of PEBE and CBE showed mass loss within three steps in different temperature ranges. The DSC curves for the dried extracts of Bauhinia variegata showed that thermal processes occur between 50 – 100°C for PEBE and 50-70°C for CBE. The FTIR spectroscopic studies of petroleum ether and chloroform bark extracts of Bauhinia variegata revealed different characteristic peak values with various functional groups in the extracts. The GC-MS study of PEBE revealed 18 compounds and CBE revealed 8 compounds. Thus, we have been successful in narrowing down to very few probable anticancer compounds from Bauhinia variegata bark extracts and also through this study, it was possible to substantiate the possibility of applying these techniques for use in the herbal medicines production from medicinal plants.