Comparative phytochemical screening of morphotypes of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.)

Abstract

The present investigation deals with the comparative phytochemical screening of different morphotypes of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.), which is one of the important medicinal as well as ornamental plant belongs to the family Apocynaceae and commonly called as yellow oleander or pili kaner. On the basis of flower colour, the Apocynaceae member Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) can be grouped into three morphotypes, viz. yellow, orange and white. The aerial parts (flowers and leaves) of different morphotypes of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) were taken and subjected to extraction with ethanol (95%) and water separately. The ethanolic (95%) extracts were screened for qualitative determination of different secondary metabolites. Preliminary phytochemical screening of ethanolic flower and leaf extracts of different morphotypes showed the existence of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavanoids, glycosides-cardiac glycosides, phenolic compounds, tannins, phytosterols, carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids while fixed oils, fats, gums and mucilages found absent in all the three tested morphotypes.