PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ETHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF LEAF, GREEN AND RIPE FRUIT OF TERMINALIA CATAPPA L. ( ALMENDRO) IN PANAMA

The almond tree (Terminalia catappa L.) in Panama is for timber, nutritional, and medicinal use, among others. Little is known about the secondary compounds present in the different parts of this plant species. This work aimed to carry out the phytochemical characterization of the green leaf (GL), green fruit (GF) and ripe fruit (RF) of the almond tree. The sampling was carried out between May to June 2017. The GL, GF and RF of the almond tree were placed separately, in direct extraction treatment with 95% ethanol for one day. The ethanolic extract was obtained by gravity filtration and concentrated in a vacuum rotary evaporator (BUCHI RotavaporTM R-210). Phytochemical screening was performed to determine the three main groups of secondary compounds (phenolics, nitrogenous and terpenes). An Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV) Spectroscopy analysis were performed to find out which functional groups were present. Past 4.02 program was used to generate a graph of relative abundance of the secondary compounds present, and Whittaker index was applied to evaluate the percentage of difference in the phytochemical composition of the plant`s parts. With these data, it was able to identify if the semi-quantitative phytochemical characterization is variable for each part, with nitrogen compounds (alkaloids) and phenolic compounds (tannins, flavonoids) presenting greater abundance. No presence of cardiotonic glycosides was found, or gums and mucilage. This information indicates that T. catappa L. is a potential resource for health, being of great ethnobotanical, pharmacological value and for the food industry in Panama.