Phytochemical Screening of Bombaxceiba Flowers

Abstract- Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is showing important and significant values to society. Bombaxceiba is an important medicinal plant of tropical and subtropical India. Its medicinal usage has been reported in the traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. The present study includes the detailed exploration of phytochemical properties of various extracts of Bombaxceiba in an attempt to provide a direction for further research. Flowers of Bombaxceiba were air-dried and its coarsely powdered samples were subjected to Soxhlet extraction using diverse solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform , ethanol, ethyl acetate and distilled water)). Freshly prepared extracts were exposed to standard phytochemical analysis for qualitative estimation of phytoconsituents. Phytochemical analysis r e v e a l e d t h e p r e s e n c e o f s e v e r a l phytochemicals viz., alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, phenol, tannins, steroid, terpenoids and glycocides. The methanolic extract displ ayed the pr e s enc e of highe st phytochemical compounds. It may be due to the higher solubility of active components in this solvent as compared to other solvents. The studies justify the use of Bombaxceiba in traditional medicines. The investigation further propose that the metabolites present in leaf tissue of Bombaxceiba can be potential source of novel natural antibacterial and antioxidant agents which may be of prospective application in food industry as an antioxidant. Keywords: Phytochemical, Bombaxceiba, Antioxidant