Abstract

CHLOROPHYLL ESTIMATION AND QUALITATIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF VITEX NEGUNDO LINN.

Vishal Kumar Singh*, Purusottam Rana, Priyam Kumari, Rupa Verma, Soni

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Abstract

Many historically used plants are important in modern medicine because they have been shown by science to have a variety of desirable activities. One such plant is Vitex negundo Linn., which is found all over India. This big, fragrant shrub is a member of the Verbenaceae family and grows near water courses or in damp environments. Vitex negundo Linn. qualitative phytochemical screening was investigated. Three different solvents—water, ethanol, and methanol—were utilized to extract the leaves that had been powdered. Using accepted practices, the extracts underwent qualitative phytochemical screening. Eight phytochemicals are found, according to the results. These include carbohydrates, steroid, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, tannins, and phenols. Overall, extracts made with water include more phytochemicals. The variety of phytochemicals that have been discovered indicates that Vitex negundo Linn. could be a good source of therapeutics. All photosynthetic organisms include green pigments called chlorophylls, which are the basic building blocks of photosynthesis. They exhibited weak protein binding, but could be easily removed using organic solvents as acetone, ether, etc. Chemically each chlorophyll molecule has a porphyrin nucleus with a chelated magnesium atom at the core and a long chain hydrocarbon (phytal) side chain bonded through a carboxylic acid group. Plants contain at least five different forms of chlorophylls. Using an 80% acetone extract, chlorophyll is extracted, and a spectrophotometer is used to measure the absorbance at 663, 645, and 470 nm. The amount of chlorophyll is computed using the absorption coefficients.

Keywords: Vitex negundo, phytochemical analysis, chlorophyll estimation, spectrophotometer.