•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Medicinal plants are universally used in the management of various diseases in different medical practices. A varied diversity of compounds extracted from plants may show anticancer, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Comparative laboratory studies and scientific approach of efficacy related to phytochemicals found in medicinal plants in Sri Lanka have not been reported yet. This study aims to evaluate the phytochemicals in selected four different plant seeds such as Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, Brassica alba (L.) Rabenh, Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and Nigella sativa L., which are used in the management of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka. The ethanol extracts of plant seeds were subjected to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the phytochemicals using recommended laboratory techniques. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance using a Statistical Analysis System (SAS) statistical package. The qualitative analysis showed that flavonoids, tannins, phenols, alkaloids, and saponins were present in all medicinal seed extracts. Based on quantitative analysis, flavonoids were found in all seed extracts, and higher amount was found in S. cumini (527.77 µg QE/g) followed by T. foenum-graecum (194.66 µg QE/g). S. cumini seeds contain higher phenolics (416.01 µg GAE/g), alkaloids (81.07 mg/g), and tannins (34.04 µg TAE/g) contents than other seed extracts. This study revealed that all these medicinal seeds, especially S. cumini, has potential as prepared standard functional products in the traditional system of medicine.

References

Ahmad, A., Husain, A., Mujeeb, M., Khan, S. A., Najmi, A. K., Siddique, N. A., Damanhouri, Z. A., & Anwar, F. (2013). A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 3(5), 337–352.

Akhtar, M. T., Qadir, R., Bukhari, I., Ashraf, R. A., Malik, Z., & Zahoor, S. et al. (2020). Antidiabetic potential of Nigella sativa L. seed oil in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 19(2), 283-289.

Al-Ishaq, R. K., Abotaleb, M., Kubatka, P., Kajo, K., & Büsselberg, D. (2019). Flavonoids and their antidiabetic effects: Cellular mechanisms and effects to improve blood sugar Levels. Biomolecules, 9(9), 430.

Aliyu, A. B., Musa, A. M., Oshanimi, J. A. Ibrahim, H. A & Oyewale, A. O. (2008). Phytochemical analysis and mineral elements composition of some medicinal plants of Northern Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 7(1), 119– 125.

Al-Jassir, M. S. (1992). Chemical composition and micro flora of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seeds growing in Saudi Arabia. Food Chemistry, 45, 239-242.

Atta-Ur-R. (1995). Nigellidine-a new indazole alkaloid from the seed of Nigella sativa. Tetrahedron Letters, 36(12), 1993-1994.

Aziz, A., & Banerjee, S. (2018). Phytochemical screening and anti-bacterial study of Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae) Seed Extract. Pharma Tutor, 6(4), 70 – 73.

Badarinath, A. V., Mallikarjuna Rao, K., Chetty, C. M. S., Ramkanth, S., Rajan, T. V. S., & Gnanaprakash, K. (2010). A Review on in-vitro antioxidant methods: Comparisons, correlations and considerations. International Journal of Pharm Tech Research, 2(2), 1276-1285.

Baldissera, G., Sperotto, N. D., Rosa, H. T., Henn, J. G., Peres, V. F., Moura, D. J., Roehrs, R., Denardin, E. L., Dal, Lago, P., Nunes, R. B., & Saffi, J. (2016). Effects of crude hydro alcoholic extract of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels leaves and continuous aerobic training in rats with diabetes induced by a high-fat diet and low doses of streptozotocin. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 194, 1012-1021.

Benayad, Z., Gómez-Cordovés, C., & Es-Safi, N. E. (2014). Characterization of flavonoid glycosides from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) crude seeds by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 15(11), 20668–20685.

Bordia, A., Verma, S. K., & Srivastava, K. C. (1997). Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum L.) on blood lipids, blood sugar and platelet aggregation in patients with coronary artery disease. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids, 56(5), 379-384.

Chung, K. T., Wong, T. Y. Wei, C. I. Huang, Y. W, & Lin, Y. (1998). Tannins and human health: a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 38(6), 421-464.

Deb, L., Bhattacharjee, C., Shetty, S. R., & Dutta, A. (2013). Evaluation of antidiabetic potential of the Syzygium cumini (Linn) Skeels by reverse pharmacological approaches. Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Research, 3(3), 135-145.

Delaviz, H., Mohammadi, J., Ghalamfarsa, G., Mohammadi, B., & Farhadi, N. (2017). A review study on phytochemistry and pharmacology applications of Juglans regia plant. Pharmacognosy Reviews, 11(22), 145-152.

Edeoga, H. O., Okwu, D. E. & Mbaebie, B. O. (2005). Phytochemical constituents of some Nigerian medicinal plants. African Journal of Biotechnology, 4(7), 685-688.

Farnsworth, N. R. (1996). Biological and phytochemical screening of plants. Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 55(3), 225-276.

Farquar, J. N. (1996). Plant Sterols, their biological effects in human. In Handbook of Lipids in Nutrition. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

Gaikwad, S. B., Mohan, G. K., & Rani, M. S. (2014). Phytochemicals for diabetes management. Pharmaceutical Crops, 5(1), 11-28.

Gowri, S. S., & Vasantha, K. (2010). Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Syzygium cumini (L.) (Myrtaceae) leaves extracts. International Journal of PharmTech Research, 2(2), 1569–1573.

Gul, R., Jan, S. U., Faridullah, S., Sherani, S., & Jahan, N. (2017). Preliminary phytochemical screening, quantitative analysis of alkaloids, and antioxidant activity of crude plant extracts from Ephedra intermedia indigenous to Balochistan. The Scientific World Journal, 2017, 5873648.

Gupta, A. K., Tandon, N., & Sharma, M. (2008). Quality Standards of Indian Medicinal Plants. New Delhi: Indian Council of Medical Research.

Hannan, J. M., Ali, L., Rokeya, B., Khaleque, J., Akhter, M., Flatt, P. R., & Abdel-Wahab, Y. H. (2007). Soluble dietary fibre fraction of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) seed improves glucose homeostasis in animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes by delaying carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and enhancing insulin action. The British Journal of Nutrition, 97(3), 514–521.

Harborne, J.B. (1998). Textbook of Phytochemical Methods. A guide to modern techniques of plant analysis (5th ed.). London: Chapman and Hall Ltd.

Ikram, F., & Hussain, F. (2014). Antidiabetic efficacy of Nigella sativa Linn in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. International Medical Journal Malaysia, 13(1), 1-6.

International Diabetic Federation (IDF). (2019). Diabetes Atlas (9th ed.). Retrieved from International Diabetic Federation website: https://diabetesatlas.org/atlas/ninth-edition/

Jaleel, A. A. H., Jinan, F. M., Mazhar, F., & Shaikh, Y. H. (2019). Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic analysis of black plum seed (Syzygium cumini) extract in hexane. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 12(2), 219-222.

Kamal, A. (2014). Phytochemical screening of Syzygium cumini seeds. Indian Journal of Plant Sciences, 3(4), 1-4.

Kavitha Chandran., C. I., & Indira, G. (2016). Quantitative estimation of total phenolic, flavonoids, tannin and chlorophyll content of leaves of Strobilanthes kunthiana (Neelakurinji). Journal of Medicinal Plants, 4(6), 282–286.

Keskes, H., Belhadj, S., Jlail, L., El Feki, A., Sayadi, S., & Allouche, N. (2018). LC–MS–MS and GC–MS analyses of biologically active extracts of Tunisian Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) Seeds. Food Measure 12, 209–220.

Kokate, C. K., Khandelwal, K. R., Pawer, A. P., & Gokhale, S. B. (1995). Practical Pharmacognosy (3rd ed.). Pune: Nirali Prakashan.

Kurek, J. (2019). Introductory Chapter: Alkaloids – Their Importance in Nature and for Human Life. Retrieved from Intechopen website: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/66742

Liyanage, D. A. M. A., Lakshmi S. R. A., & Wanigasekara D. R. (2012). Alpinia calcarata Roscoe: A Rich Source of Phytopharmaceuticals in Sri Lanka. The Natural Products Journal, 2(4), 263-269.

Mahdavi, M. R., Roghani, M., & Baluchnejadmojarad, T. (2008). Mechanisms responsible for the vascular effect of aqueous Trigonella foenum-graecum leaf extract in diabetic rats. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 40(2), 59–63.

Moradi-Kor, N., & Moradi, K. (2013). Physiological and pharmaceutical effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) as a multipurpose and valuable medicinal plant. Global Journal of Medicinal Plant Research, 1(2), 199-206.

Moses, T., Papadopoulou, K. K. & Osbourn, A. (2014). Metabolic and functional diversity of saponins, biosynthetic intermediates and semi-synthetic derivatives. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 49(6), 439-462.

Mujeeb, F., Bajpai, P., & Pathak, N. (2014). Phytochemical evaluation, antimicrobial activity, and determination of bioactive components from leaves of Aegle marmelos. BioMed Research International, 2014, 497606.

Murti, K., Paliwal, D., Madan, S., Kundu, R., & Kaushik, M. (2012). Exploration of preliminary phytochemical studies of seed of Syzygium cumini. American Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 7(1), 12-14.

Nabarun, M., Sampath, V., Sameer, P., Babu, U. V., & Richard L. (2019). Antidiabetic medicinal plants: A review. International Research Journal of Pharmacy, 10(2), 31-37.

Omar, R., Li, L., Yuan, T., & Seeram, N. P. (2012). α-Glucosidase inhibitory hydrolyzable tannins from Eugenia jambolana seeds. Journal of Natural Products, 75(8), 1505-1509.

Pandya, K., Maniar, K., Soni, H., Bhatt, S., Patel, P., Solanki, B., & Gurav, N. (2011). Standardization of antidiabetic ayurvedic herbo-mineral formulation. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, 10(1), 174-186.

Prabakaran, K., & Shanmugavel, G. (2017). Antidiabetic activity and phytochemical constituents of Syzygium cumini seeds in Puducherry region, South India. International Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemical Research, 9(7), 985-989.

Prashant, T., Bimlesh, K., Mandeep, K., Gurpreet, K., & Harleen K. (2011). Phytochemical screening and extraction: A review. Internationale Pharmaceutica Sciencia, 1(1), 98-106.

Radford, D. J., Gillies, A. D., Hinds, J. A., & Duffy, P. (1986). Naturally occurring cardiac glycosides. The Medical Journal of Australia, 144(10), 540–544.

Robbins, R. J. (2003). Phenolic acids in foods: an overview of analytical methodology. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(10), 2866-2887.

Sadiq, N., Subhani, G., Fatima, S. A., Nadeem, M., Zafer, S., & Mohsin, M. (2021). Antidiabetic effect of Nigella sativa compared with metformin on blood glucose levels in streptozotocin induced diabetic albino wistar rats. International Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 10(4), 361-367.

Saxena, N., Shrivastava, P. N., & Saxena, R. C. (2012). Preliminary physico-phytochemical study of stem bark of Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. BR. – A medicinal plant. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 3(4), 1071-1075.

Sayeed, S. R., Ahmed, H., Rahman, S., Ahmad, I., Rahman, M., Hossan, S., & Rahmatullah, M. (2015). Polyherbal formulation for lowering blood glucose levels: Evaluation of a combination of Foeniculum vulgare and Brassica alba seeds. World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 4(10), 79-85.

Shahidi, F., & Ambigaipalan, P. (2015). Phenolics and polyphenolics in foods, beverages and spices: Antioxidant activity and health effects – A review. Journal of Functional Foods, 18, Part B, 820-897.

Sharma, A., Kumar, A., Meena, H. S., & Singh, D. (2017). Chromatographic determination of phenolics in Brassica juncea. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 29(2), 296-300.

Sharma, V. P., Soni, M. K., Onkar, J. K., & Sharma, O. (2019). Medicinal uses of Jamun [Syzygium cumini (Linn.) Skeels.]: A review article. World Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research, 5(8), 89-90.

Sharma, R. D., Raghuram, T. C., & Rao, N. S. (1990). Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and serum lipids in type I diabetes. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 44(4), 301–306.

Singh, J. P., Singh, A., Bajpai, A., & Ahmad, I. Z. (2015). Characterization of different Syzygium Cumini Skeels accessions based on physico-chemical attributes and phytochemical investigations. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 7(5),158-164.

Singleton, V. L., Orthofer, R., & Raventos, R. M. L. (1999). Analysis of total phenols and other oxidation substrates and antioxidants by means of Folin-Ciocaltue reagent. Methods in Enzymology, 299, 152-178.

Tiwari, P., Kumar, B., Kaur, M., Kaur, G., & Kaur, H. (2011). Phytochemical screening and extraction: A review. Internationale Pharmaceutica Sciencia, 1(1), 98-106.

Tripathi, A. K., & Kohli, S. (2014). Pharmacognostical standardization and antidiabetic activity of Syzygium cumini (Linn.) barks (Myrtaceae) on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, 11(2), 71-81.

Tungmunnithum, D., Thongboonyou, A., Pholboon, A., & Yangsabai, A. (2018). Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds from medicinal plants for pharmaceutical and medical aspects: An overview. Medicines (Basel, Switzerland), 5(3), 93.

Vihan, S., & Brashier, D. B. S. (2017). A study to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of Syzygium cumini Linn. seed extract in high fructose diet induced diabetes in Albino Rats. International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 6(6), 1363-1366.

Yadav, P., Mahour, K., & Kumar, A. (2011). Standardization and evaluation of herbal drug formulations. Journal of Advanced Laboratory Research in Biology, 2(4), 161-166.

Yadav, R., & Chowdhury, P. (2017). Screening the antioxidant activity of Trigonella foenum graecum seeds. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Applications, 2(1), 65-70.

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.