Original Articles: 2011 Vol: 3 Issue: 3
GC-MS Analysis of bioactive components from the ethanolic leaf extract of Canthium dicoccum (Gaertn.) Teijsm & Binn
Abstract
Medicinal plants are sources of important therapeutic aids for alleviating human ailments. Canthium dicoccum is one of the medicinally important plants belonging to the family Rubiaceae, commonly known as “nallamandharam” in Tamil. The major chemical constituents are Spathulenol (20.76 %), Caryophyllene oxide (19.25 %), Cedren-13-ol (10.62 %), Ledene oxide (5.24 %), m-mentho-4, 8-diene (6.41 %) and 2-furancarboxaldehyde (4.51 %). Thus the extract of Canthium dicoccum was characterized by substantial levels of sesquiterpenoids (55.87 %), nitrogenous compounds (12.93 %), aldehydes (8.7 %), terpinolene (6.41 %) and phenols (4.26 %). The presence of some of these constituents in the plant extract provides the scientific evidences for the antimicrobial, anti-tumor, Immuno modulatory and antioxidant properties of the plant.