Phytochemical and microbiological investigation of the leaves of Leucosyke Hispidissima Wedd. (Dael)

• Main Author: Akilith, Carolyn Anoya
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1984
• Subjects: Materia medica; Vegetable; Chemistry; Medicinal-Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1026
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study dealt with the investigation of the leaves of Leucosyke hispidissima Wedd. or dael , a shrub in which the infusion of the leaves or fruits is being used as an antidiarrheal in the Mountain Province where the plant abounds. The investigation was made mainly to determine the important constituents in the leaf extract that may be responsible for its medicinal property, to isolate important constituents and to test the potential of the extract as an antimicrobial drug. A phytochemical assay was then carried out with the leaf extract. This indicated the presence of flavonoids, tannins, and polyphenolic compounds as well as probable traces of saponins, triterpenoids and anthraquinones. On subjecting the crude extract to quick column chromatography, at least two components were isolated. Both isolates were revealed to have phenolic and glycosidic nature from their IR spectra. A microbiological assay done with the crude extract and the fractions from the chromatographic separation showed antimicrobial activity against gram negative bacteria except those fractions that appeared to contain green components only. From this initial assay on the leaves of Leucosyke hispidissima Wedd., it is revealed that the extract has a potential as an antimicrobial drug. Results also showed that the medicinal and/or antimicrobial property of the plant could not be attributed to a single component in the extract but to a number of components and their combination.