SUCCESSIVE SOLVENT EXTRACTION, PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (TLC) PROFILING OF MUSA CAVENDESHII LINN PEEL

Abstract

Musa cavendeshii belongs to the family Musaceae grown in countries all over the world. The plant has varied ethno-medicinal importance as it has nutritional values which include high intake of sugars, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and the very low intake of fat. Banana leaves and the peel is a waste product but in traditional medicine all over the world, it is useful in the management of wounds, burns and scars and this has been confirmed by the present modern medicine. Qualitative phytochemical screening of hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts was performed to explore the scientific basis of its medicinal value. The results revealed the presence of many phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenes, steroids, tannins, saponnins, calcium glycoside etc in different extracts. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous was performed for some important phytochemicals like triterpenes, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins. Alkaloids and flavonoids showed their presence in all extracts with the following spots respectively (for hexane Rf-0.85, 0.88; for ethyl acetate Rf-0.89, 0.53; for methanol Rf-0.45, 0.88 and for aqueous Rf-0.46, 0.05). Triterpenes and steroids (Rf-0.86) with tannins were found in hexane and aqueous extracts respectively. These findings had provided evidence that Musa cavendeshii peel is a potent source for some medicinally important phytochemicals which justify its use in traditional medicine. This will help in future investigation of these findings for isolation and identification of the active biochemical compound for drug development.