| Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. belongs to the family Ebenaceae. The leaves are very well known for making beedi all over India but also well-known for its medicinal uses. Commonly called as ‘Kendu’ distributed in the forest all across Jharkhand state. The plant has been utilized extensively by tribal herbal practitioners to treat various ailments such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, intermittent fevers, bleeding gums, bronchitis, carbuncles, cough, cramps, pneumonia, syphilis and tumors. In previous studies the antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer and antiulcerogenic activity of Diospyros melanoxylon has been reported. The medicinal value of a plant species depends upon its various phytochemical constituents. In the present study the chemical compositions of the methanolic extract of leaves of Diospyros melanoxylon were investigated using Gas chromatography Mass spectrometry. The investigation highlighted the presence of thirty-three bioactive phytochemical compounds. The major chemical constituents belonging to triterpenes are Alpha-amyrin(37.36%), Beta-amyrin(16.09%), Lanosterol(9.09%), Lup-20(29)-en-3-one(3.87%), Ursolic aldehyde(3.79%), Urs-12-en-28-al,3-(acetyloxy)-,(3beta)-(3.47%), Lup-20(29)-en-3-one(2.45%), 2,2,4a,6a,8a,9,12b,14a-Octamethyl(2.81%), 2-Naphthalenemethanol,1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,8a-octahydro-alpha-tetramethyl-(1.77%), Lupeol(1.61%), Neophytadiene(1.23%), 9,19-Cyclolanost-23-ene-3-O-beta(1.16%), Olean-12-en-28-al(1.09%), Squalene(0.99%) known for anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial and antitumoral agents, followed by polyphenols 1,3,5-Benzenetriol(1.02%), 1,2,3-Benzenetriol(1.00%), and Vitamin E(0.98%) with high antioxidant property and sugar Mome inositol(3.41%) with anti-alopecic, anti-cirrhotic, anti-neuropathic and sweeting properties have been identified. |
