Abstract
Author(s): Sonam S.K. and Archana Tiwari
Plants claim the largest source of phytochemical constituents which take part in relieving many health problems. So a screening of phytochemical constituents was performed in the laboratory in selected Aloe species.Qualitative and quantitative determinations of phytochemical constituents were evaluated in Aloe species namelyAloe barbadensis, Aloe rupestris, Aloe juvenna and Gasteria pulchra. Phytochemical screening results revealed the presence of almost all the biologically active secondary metabolites like alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavanoids, phenolic compounds, reducing sugars, saponins, steroids, tannins and terpenoids in the Aloe extracts.But steroids were absent in Aloe juvenna and cardiac gycosides were absent in Gasteria pulchra. Quantitative analysis of these compounds by spectrophotometry revealed that all the Aloe species possessed significant phytochemical constituents with slight variation. Aloe barbadensis possessed maximum alkaloids (23.83 ± 0.28), flavanoids (18.66 ± 0.57), phenolics (14.26 ± 0.25), tannins (4.53 ± 0.3) and terpenoids (13.5 ± 0.86) than other species except for saponins. Thus the present study justified that Aloe species contain medicinally important bioactive compounds that it is nutritionally as well as medicinally valuedin pharmaceutical field.
