Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF AEGLE MARMELOS (L.) CORREA FRUIT PULP: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF ETHNOMEDICINE

Abstract

Medicinal plants have played a significant role in ancient traditional systems of medication in many countries. They are rich source of bioactive compounds and thus serve as important raw materials for drug production. Aegle marmelos is known for various medicinal properties in traditional medicinal system and use to cure a variety of diseases. In last few decades, Aegle marmelos is extensively studied for its medicinal properties by advanced scientific techniques and a variety of bioactive compounds have been isolated from the different parts of the plant and were analysed pharmacologically. In our present investigation phytochemical analysis of fruit pulp of Aegle marmelos has been evaluated for the presence of bioactive compounds using various polarity solvents including petroleum ether, chloroform, benzene, ethanol and water. The study revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides and tannins. The results suggest that Aegle marmelos has promising therapeutic potential and can be used as a base for the development of novel potent drug in ethnomedicine.

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