Abstract

THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF LEAVES EXTRACT OF PHYLLANTHUS RETICULATUS POIR. (FAMILY: EUPHORBIACEAE)

*Tahmina Haque, Shuvajit Bose, Mahmuda Sultana, Sheikh Feroz Uddin Ahmed

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Abstract

Phyllanthus reticulatus Poir. is a medicinal plant belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae which is widely found in asiatic region. This plant has been reported to have important phytoconstituents and used for medicinal activities like antidiabetic, antiviral, anticancer, antiplasmodial, hepatoprotective, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities for long times. The current study was carried out to investigate the phytochemicals present in the methanolic leaf extracts of Phyllanthus reticulatus Poir. and to calculate the Rf value of compounds found by thin layer chromatography. The dried powders were extracted by maceration process in methanol 90% methanol in water. The phytochemical screening reports that the plant contains phytochemicals like tannins, saponins, alkaloids, coumarins, terpenoids and flavonoids. The methanol fraction of the leaf extract was investigated by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) in different solvent system and three spots were found with the solvent system, Petroleum ether: Methanol (75: 25). Rf value of those spots were 0.40, 0.51 and 0.62. The plant has principles that might have good prospects in drug discovery from natural sources. However further investigations are necessary to check the findings.

Keywords: Phyllanthus reticulatus, Phytochemical screening, Thin Layer Chromatography.