Abstract

Krithika Namasivayam¹, Arumugasamy Karuppanan², Abdul Kaffoor Habibulla³ and Nanthakumar Rangasamy⁴

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/ojc/330465

Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb. (Apiaceae), a medicinal herb of the southern Western Ghats was chosen for the elucidation of bioactive phytoconstituents by GC-MS. This work was taken up to substantiate the ethnomedicinal uses by the natives and other indigeneous people from different regions by providing a database of bioactive constituents in this plant. The GC-MS analysis of the whole plant methanol extract identified thirty six bioactive compounds dominated by ten sesquiterpenes (6.11% peak area). The maximum peak area of 33.37% was occupied by cinnamic acid- cyclohexyl ester. The first compound to be identified was p-cresol with retention time of 3.60 min, whereas β-Sitosterol was the last compound which took longest retention time of 37.10 min. The 36 compounds predominantly belonged to sesquiterpenes, fatty acids, terpenes, phenolics and steroids. These diverse active phytoconstituents could offer protection against many ailments due to their wide range of activities.

Hydrocotyle javanica; GC-MS; sesquiterpenes; ethnomedicinal

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