Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.

Sci (2015) 4(4): 150-156

ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 4 Number 4 (2015) pp. 150-156

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Original Research Article

Comparative Study of Phytochemical Constituents in Flower of Wedelia
trilobata, Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum from Durg District of
Chhattisgarh, India

Nisreen Husain* and Anil Kumar

1
Department of Zoology, Govt. Dr. W.W. Patankar Girls PG. College, Durg (C.G.), India
2
Department of Biotechnology, Govt. V.Y.T.PG. Autonomous College, Durg (C.G.), India

*Corresponding author

ABSTRACT

The variety of medicinal plants have been known since ages for their therapeutic
and pharmacological potentials. Such plants are known to have the ability to
Keywords synthesize a wide range of chemical compounds and secondary metabolites. The
active biological functions and medicinal values of such plants is attributed to the
Phytochemical presence of such bioactive compounds. In the present study, the significant
compounds, phytocompounds were screened from the methanolic and chloroformic flower
Cardiac extracts of three important medicinal plants commonly found in Durg district of
glycosides, Chhattisgarh, viz., Wedelia trilobata, Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum, and
Steroids, then comparatively analyzed. The significant secondary metabolites viz., Cardiac
Flavonoids, glycosides, steroids, Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Terpenoids, Tannins and Saponins
Terpenoids, were qualitatively analyzed from different flower extracts and for which the
Alkaloids standard protocol was followed. The methanolic flower extracts of three of the
plants were found to have the rich sources of phytoactive compounds as compared
to the chloroformic flower extract. Cardiac glycosides were richly present in the
flower extracts of Wedelia trilobata, and Chrysanthemum. Flavonoids, Tannins,
Terpenoids and Alkaloids were present in bulk in Chrysanthemum flower extract.

Introduction

Chhattisgarh is the Herbal state of India, the rapid and intense exploration of more
rich in the natural sources of plants and and more of such plants with therapeutic and
herbs with medicinal values. The medicinal pharmacological potentials (Anil Kumar
plants have been the important part of the Dhiman, 2006). The properties like anti-
the Indian traditional systems of medicines cancerous, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-
and herbal drugs since age. The tremendous inflammatory, anti-microbial, analgesic and
beneficial properties of medicinal plants to antioxidant ones are often attributed to the
fight against free radicals and to prevent presence of a wide range of phytochemical
epidemics of infectious diseases, has led to compounds in the different extracts of the

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medicinal plants. The beneficial and The medicinal value of Wedelia trilobata
medicinal properties of such plants are comprises of its use in the treatment of
known to result from the combinations of hepatitis, in clearing off the placenta after
the secondary products present in the plants. birth, and in cure of fever, sores, cold and
Hence, the medicinal plants are used as the inflammation (Xuesong et al., 2006).
rich source of many potent and powerful Achyranthes aspera is traditionally used in
drugs (Uniyal et al., 2006). The most treatment of asthama, cough, oedema, piles,
prominent phytochemical compounds are skin eruptions, pneumonia, rheumatism, and
Cardiac glycosides, Steroids, Flavonoids, also in treatment against bites of poisonous
Terpenoids, Alkaloids,Saponins and snakes and reptiles (Khare et al., 2007;
Tannins. Nadkarni et al., 2009). Chrysanthemum and
its herbal infusions are used in the treatment
The three commonly growing medicinal of viral and bacterial infections, sinusitis,
plants of Chhattisgarh, selected for the blood pressure, digestive and skin problems
present study were Wedelia trilobata, and influenza (Cheng et al., 2005; Lin et al.,
Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum. 2010; Kim et al.,2011; Sharma et al., 2011).
Wedelia trilobata, now with a new
nomenclature as Sphagneticola trilobata is The wide range of bioactivities, and
very attractive, glossy, ground cover herb medicinal and pharmaceutical properties of
with small, bright yellow blooms. It is well the extracts of Wedelia trilobata,
known for its anti-leishmanial, anti- Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum is
inflammatory, antioxidant and anti- accounted for the presence of phytochemical
carcinogenic properties (Brito et al., 2006; constituents enormously. The present study
Lin et al., 2007; Roseni et al., 2009; reveals the comparative analysis of the
Govindappa et al., 2011; Haldar et al., 2011; various important phytoactive compounds in
Kataki et al., 2012). Achyranthes aspera is the flower extracts of three of the selected
an indigenous medicinal plant in the form of medicinal plants, prepared in methanol and
the perennial herb with woody base and chloroform solvents separately.
greenish white inflorescence. It is known for
spermicidal activity, and also for anti- Materials and Methods
parasitic, anti-microbial, analgesic, anti-
inflammatory, wound healing and Collection and Preparation of Flower
antioxidant activities (Gokhale et al., 2002; Extract
Edwin et al., 2008; Sutar et al., 2008; Zafar
et al., 2009; Gayathri et al., 2009; Malarvili The healthy plants of Wedelia trilobata,
et al., 2009; Vijaya Kumar et al., 2009; Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum
Zahir et al., 2009; Shrivastava et al., 2011). were collected from the open fields and
Chrysanthemum is another ornamental gardens of areas of Durg. The fresh flowers
perennial flowering herb known for its white were separated from the plants, and washed
and colourful blooms. It has anti- with clean water. Thereafter, they were
inflammatory and cardioprotective effects, shade-dried for a few days. The dried
cytotoxic, antioxidant and antimutagenic flowers of the three plants were grinded into
activities (Miyazawa et al., 2003; Jiang et coarse powder. The flower extract of each
al., 2004; Xie et al., 2009; Hanen et al., plant was then prepared separately, using the
2009; Ding et al., 2010). solvents methanol (59%) and chloroform by
Soxhlet Extraction apparatus.

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Methods for Phytochemical screening adding a few drops of 1% FeCl3 (Ferric

tests Chloride), brownish green or blue black
coloration confirmed the presence of
Test for cardiac glycosides Tannins.

0.5 ml of flower extract was dissolved in 2 Test for Alkaloids

ml Glacial acetic acid containing one drop
of 1% Ferric Chloride (FeCl3). This solution a) Meyer s test
was under layered with 1 ml of Sulphuric
acid (H2SO4). A brown ring was formed at 0.5 ml of flower extract was dissolved in
the interface that indicated the presence of 5ml of 1% HCl (Hydrogen Chloride) and
deoxy-sugar. placed in boiling water-bath, followed by
filtration. 1ml of filtrate was treated with a
Test for steroids few drops of Meyer s reagent. Appearance
of white precipitate or turbidity indicated the
0.5 ml of the flower extract was dissolved in presence of Alkaloids.
3 ml of Chloroform (CHCl3) and this was
filtered. A few drops of conc. H2SO4 was b) Dry extract precipitation test
added to the filtrate which formed a lower
layer. Appearance of reddish brown color 4 ml Methanol and 400 ml of Glacial acetic
ring showed the positive presence for acid, alongwith a few drops of Ammonia
Steroids. was added to the small quantity of dry
flower extract. The precipitation indicated
Test for Flavonoids the presence of Alkaloids.

5 ml of dil. NH3 (Ammonia) solution was Test for Terpenoids

added to a portion of aqueous filtrate of
flower extract. To this conc. H2SO4 was Salkowski test was applied for the detection
added. The appearance of yellow color of Terpenoids in the extract 0.5 gms of
indicated the presence of Flavonoids. flower extract was mixed with 2 ml of
Yellow color usually disappeared on CHCl3 (Chloroform), followed by addition
standing. of 3 ml of conc. H2SO4 (Sulphuric acid). A
reddish brown color at the interface
Test for Saponins confirmed the presence of Terpenoids.

Frothing test, the best test for the detection The phytochemical screening was followed
of Saponins was applied. 0.5 ml of flower by a comparative study for the presence of
extract was added to 5 ml of distilled water different phytochemical compounds in the
in a test-tube. The solution was shaken different flower extracts prepared in two
vigorously, and the stable persistent solvents separately, i.e., Methanol and
appearance of froth indicated the presence Chloroform. The flower extract of each of
of Saponins. the three selected medicinal plants was
considered for experimentation, viz.,
Test for Tannins Wedelia trilobata, Achyranthes aspera and
Chrysanthemum.
0.5 ml of extract was boiled in 10 ml of
distilled water and then filtered. After
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Result and Discussion Saponins and Tannins in the flower extract

of three of the selected medicinal plants.
The phytochemical analysis of methanolic However, Steroids and Terpenoids were
and chloroformic extracts of flowers of present in the chloroformic flower extract of
Wedelia trilobata, Achyranthes aspera and all the plants considered for the study.
Chrysanthemum showed the presence of (Table 1)
different phytochemical compounds and
absence of some of them as well. The plant-derived phytochemical products
Methanolic flower extracts of three of the play an important role in human health and
plants were found to have the rich sources of prevention of diseases. Natural or
phytoactive compounds as compared to the phytochemical constituents are secondary
chloroformic flower extracts. Cardiac metabolites found in plants, in the form of
glycosides were richly present in the flower Phenolic acids and Flavonoids (Apak et al.,
extracts of Wedelia trilobata and 2007). These compounds react with
Chrysanthemum. Flavonoids, Tannins, nutrients and dietary products, scavenge the
Terpenoids and Alkaloids were detected in free radicals, and thus diminish the risk of
Wedelia trilobata, and in bulk in dreadful diseases such as arthritis, cancer,
Chrysanthemum flower extracts. In osteoporosis, cardiac ailments and early
methanolic flower extract of Achyranthes ageing. Among the natural Phenolic
aspera, Saponins, Tannins and Alkaloids compounds found in plants, the Flavonoids
showed less or negative presence. The weak are the most important ones. Tannins are
presence of Saponins was observed in polyphenolic compounds, and phenolic units
methanol flower extract of Wedelia trilobata are also present in Alkaloids and
and Chrysanthemum. Chloroformic flower Terpenoids.
extract showed the absence of Flavonoids,

Table.1 Showing the comparative results of Phytochemical analysis of the Flower extract of
Wedelia trilobata, Chrysanthemum and Achyranthes aspera

Extract of Plant Fl. E. of Wedelia trilobata Fl. E. of Achyranthes Fl. E. of

aspera Chrysanthemum
Solvents Methanol Chloroform Methanol Chlorofor Methanol Chlorofor
m m
Phytochemical
Constituents
Cardiac ++ + + - ++ -
glycosides
Steroids + + + + + +
Flavonoids + - + - ++ -
Saponins - - - -
Tannins + - - - ++ -
Terpenoids + + + + ++ +
Alkaloids + - - ++ +
+ = Present; ++ = Present in bulk; = Present in less amount; - = Absent; Fl. E.= Flower Extract

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Table.2 Comparative equations about the presence of phytochemicals qualitatively in the flower
extracts of Wedelia trilobata, Achyranthes aspera and Chrysanthemum

1. Extract Methanolic Fl.E. > Chloroformic Fl.E.

2. Phytochemicals
Wedelia trilobata Fl. E > Chrysanthemum Fl.E. > Achyranthes aspera Fl.
a. Cardiac glycosides
E.
Chrysanthemum Fl.E. > Wedelia trilobata Fl.E. > Achyranthes aspera
b. Flavonoids
Fl.E.
c. Tannins Chrysanthemum Fl.E. > Wedelia trilobata Fl.E
d. Terpenoids Chrysanthemum Fl.E. > Wedelia trilobata Fl.E > Achyranthes aspera Fl.E.
e. Alkaloids Chrysanthemum Fl.E. > Wedelia trilobata Fl.E > Achyranthes aspera Fl.E.
Present in sufficed amounts in the Fl.E. of Chrysanthemum, Wedelia
f. Steroids
trilobata and Achyranthes aspera (Methanolic & Chloroformic)
Present in less amount in the Fl.E. of Wedelia trilobata and
g. Saponins
Chrysanthemum (Methanolic)
Fl. E. Flower Extract

Flavonoids are usually referred to as occasional toxicity. The toxic property of

antioxidant and function to provide cardiac glycosides attribute to their
protection against diseases. Flavonoids get pharmacological activity.
easily absorbed into cell membrane, thereby
protect the cells from the damage of free Thus in the present study, the presence of
radicals. Also they show inhibitory activity certain significant phytochemical
against peroxidation of lecithin (Hanen et compounds helped in determining that the
al., 2009; Ding et al., 2010). They possess flowers of Chrysanthemum were the richest
diverse biological activities such as anti- sources of bioactive compounds owing to
viral, anti-ulcer, cytotoxic and anti- their efficient antioxidant and medicinal
inflammatory ones (Palliwal et al., 2005; properties. The flowers of Wedelia trilobata
Lee et al., 2011; Ghasemzadeh et al., 2011). were also good sources of phytochemical
Terpenoids are significant in plant growth constituents, attributing to their medicinal
and metabolism. and pharmacological activities.
Inflorescence of Achyranthes aspera was
Alkaloids are often toxic to human beings comparatively reported for less sources of
and many have physiological activities, phytochemicals. The methanolic flower
hence they are widely used in medicines. extracts of Wedelia trilobata, Achyranthes
Many Alkaloids are Terpenoids in nature, aspera and Chrysanthemum showed rich
and function as growth regulators or as presence of phytochemicals as compared to
insect repellents and attractants. Steroids, the chloroformic extracts. (Table 2)
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