Phytochemical investigation of Phoenix canariensis Hort. ex Chabaud leaves and pollen grains

Abstract

Phoenix canariensis is a commonly grown, yet understudied, palm plant. The phytochemical screening of leaves and pollens revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, sterols and/or triterpenes. Quantitative estimation of constituents, revealed that the total polyphenolics were higher in the leaves (69.9) than in pollens (29.98) expressed in mg gallic acid equivalent/g d.wt, the total flavonoids calculated as rutin equivalent were (23.86 mg/g) in leaves and (17.20 mg/g) in pollens, the total tannins content were 55.18 and 3.31 mg tannic acid equivalent/g fresh wt, while the total steroids content were 2.6 and 12.4 mg β-sitosterol equivalent/g d.wt, in leaves and pollens, respectively. Eighteen phenolic compounds and ten flavonoids were identified by HPLC. GLC analysis of lipids, revealed the identification of phytosterols (4.93 and 28.90%), saturated (35.35 and 40.56%) and unsaturated (62.42 and 59.01%) fatty acids in leaves and pollens, respectively. Proximate analysis revealed a total moisture content of (6.4 and 7.7 %), crude fiber (32.22 and 39.50%), total ash (12.1 and 8.1%) and acid insoluble ash (4.7 and 7.6 %) for leaves and pollens, respectively. Moreover, spathe headspace volatile analysis combined with GC-MS revealed the presence of fifty-two compounds constituting 72.84% of the total oil composition where a- copaene predominates (18.72%).