Preliminary phytochemical screening of polysaccharides content for selection of high quality planting materials: Eurycoma longifolia

Abstract

Provenance trial of Eurycoma longifolia is currently being carried out in order to provide necessary information for breeding strategies, which is crucially needed for the production of high quality planting materials. Assessment of polysaccharides content in the root part of the plant is taken among the important characteristics in the selection of the best provenance. Polysaccharides compound is chosen as bioactive marker due to the non-toxicity nature of the compound and potential pharmacological properties possessed. Polysaccharides compound of the root part is extracted by using water extract procedure from nine selected provenances (Johor, Melaka, Pahang A, Pahang B, Pahang D, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Selangor and Terengganu) of E. longifolia collected throughout forest reserves of Peninsular Malaysia. The analysis of the actual weight of the compound is conducted using phenol-sulfuric acid method by UV-VIS and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is used for the detection of structural components of the polysaccharides compound. The assessment showed that polysaccharides content in the root part of Terengganu provenance significantly has the highest with 1.06 % actual weight of polysaccharides (out of 30 g extracted dry roots). Meanwhile, there are four provenances showed undetectable range of polysaccharide content which were Melaka, Pahang A, Pulau Pinang and Selangor. In a nutshell, based on the preliminary assessment of polysaccharide content alone, Terengganu provenance has the potential to be declared among the best provenances that has high quality. The provenance trial also has taken into considerations several important parameters such as the growth performances variation and the tolerance of the plants to pests and diseases besides the phytochemical screening. Provenance trial of E. longifolia is still ongoing, data for various parameters are still being collected, and thus it is still too early to derive a conclusion of which is the best provenance.