Abstract

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATIONS OF CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS IN A SIMPLE ASCIDIAN PHALLUSIA NIGRA

*D. Shanmuga Priya, H. Kohila Subathra Christy and S. Sankaravadivu

Abstract

Ascidians are marine sedentary organisms. Phallusia nigra is a simple ascidian belonging to the family Ascidiidae found in plenty throughout the year along the Thoothukudi coast of India. Preliminary chemical screening of petroleum ether (400- 600C), benzene, chloroform, ethanol and water extracts revealed the presence of chemical constituents such as alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, quinones, saponins and anthraquinones. Quantitative estimation of alkaloids, phenolic compounds, saponins and flavonoids were carried out using uv-vis spectrophotometer and found that the ethanolic extract contains the higher amount of steroids and flavonoids.

Keywords: Phallusia nigra, phytochemical screening, uv-vis spectrophotometer.