Preliminary phytochemical analysis and biological screening of extracts of leaves of melia dubia cav

Abstract

The traditional knowledge on medicinal plants can lead to the development of drugs and plant based medicine. The leaves of Melia dubia Cav (Meliaceae) are used for the treatment of various ailments. In present study it was screened for antidiabetic and antioxidant activities and also tested for various phytochemical constituents. The phytochemical screening of extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins and glycosides. Total phenol content and total flavonoid content was performed for all the extracts by standard methods. The extracts were screened for in vitro a-amylase inhibitory activity and the ethanolic extract inhibited α-amylase at much lower concentration (IC50-24.82 μg/ml) than the standard Acarbose. The successive solvent extracts of Melia dubia exhibited excellent antioxidant activity by Nitric oxide radical scavenging method, evidenced by lower IC50 (16.89 μg/ml) value in the ethanolic extract. The results revealed that, ethanolic fraction of Melia dubia Cav which contains highest amount of phenolic and flavonoids compound may be contributing to antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of the plant.