Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE FRUITS OF SOLANUM XANTHOCARPUM

Henok Brehanu Abebe* and Dr. Hailemichael Tesso Bayou

Abstract

The plant used for this study was Solanum xanthocarpum, a prickly diffuse, bright green perennial herb, locally known as enbuay. The aqueous extract of the fruit of the plant S. xanthocarpum is administered by some traditional healers for the treatment of tuberculosis, locally known as samba nekersa and other diseases. However, these traditional claims have not been supported by scientific research nor the active ingredients have been identified. This research attempted to investigate the phytochemical constituents of the fruits of S. xanthocarpum. The phytochemical tests of S. zanthocarpum fruits revealed the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins and saponins in chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. Of 170 gm. powdered fruit of S. xanthocarpum, when successively extracted, 1.1 gm, 0.8 gm, 0.6 gm and 17.6 crude extracts were obtained by petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol solvents respectively. Then, isolation and purification of phytoconstituents from methanol extracts by column chromatography led to the isolation of a new compound. The new compound is a steroidal glycoside of furostane parent aglycone skeleton. The structures of this compound have been elucidated by interpretation of its UV-Vs, IR, and NMR spectral data and comparison of these spectral data with literatures.

Keywords: Solanumxanthocarpum, furostane, spirostane, steroidal glycosides, saponin.