Phytochemical Profiling of Erythrina variegata Leaves by Gas Chromatography-mass Spectroscopy

Abstract

Background: Biologically active compounds derived from the many of medicinal plants have become an important source for developing natural products to act as an antioxidant, insecticidal, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. So the current work was aimed to determine the bioactive components present in the leaves of Erythrina variegata by using GC-MS analysis to assess the antioxidant, insecticidal, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Methods: The laboratory experiment was carried out at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2019-2020 to ascertain the phytochemical extraction using different solvents, viz., water, ethanol and hexane by GC-MS analysis of the leaves of Erythrina variegata. Result: GC-MS analysis of aqueous, ethanol and hexane leaf extracts revealed the presence of twenty four, twenty six and twenty two components, respectively. Of the twenty four compounds eluted from the aqueous leaf extract, 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethyl ester had the highest peak area of 11.98%, while the lowest was 0.33 % for oleic acid,eicosyl ester and 1,2,3-butanetriol. In the ethanol leaf extract diethyl phthalate had the highest peak area of 35.04% and d-streptamine, O-6-amino-6-deoxy-à-D-glucopyranosyl- (1-4)-O- (3-deoxy-4-C-methyl-3- (methylamino) -á-L-arabinopyranosyl- (1-6) -2-deoxy-with the lowest peak area of 0.40%. Whereas, phenol,2,6-bis (1,1-dimethyl ethyl)- and dasycarpidan-1-methanol, acetate (ester) had the the lowest peak area of 0.20% and 9-octadecenoic acid (Z)-, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester exhibited the highest peak area of 13.41%, respectively, in the hexane leaf extract. The results of the present study clearly indicated that the leaf extract of Erythrina variegata possesses potent antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, pesticide, insecticide, insect repellent, larvicidal activity, antibiotic, free radical scavenger, peroxidase substrate, reductant, lipid peroxidase inhibitor, plasticizer, surfactant and emulsifying properties.