Saraca indica L. leaves, Phytochemical, in vitro Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities

Saraca indica L. (Saraca asoca) is reported for its important biological benefits in Indian folk medicine. The powdered leaves were extracted with 70% ethanol to obtain total ethanol extract(TEE) that was successively fractionated to get petroleum ether(pet. ether),chloroform(CHCl3), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and methanol extracts. The antioxidant activity of TEE by three methods of assay, as well as, the antioxidant activity of TEE and successive extracts by DPPH method at two dose were done.Total phenolics and total flavonoids content of the plant were determined. The cytotoxic evaluation revealed that EtOAc extract exhibited activity against HCT-116 and MCF-7, Hela & HEPG-2 . GC/MS analysis of the unasponifiable(USF) and saponifiable (SF)fractions of the non-polar extract was carried out. 34 Compounds with phytol, dodecane, BHT and alpha -amyrin as the major compounds in the USF and 25 compounds with methyl palmitate & Methyl-9, 12,15- octadecatrienoate as major compounds in the SF were identified. Fifteen phenolic compounds were detected in HPLC analysis of EtOAcextract as well as six phenolic compounds were isolated and identified for the first time from the same extract they were; gallic acid, methylgallate, rutin, quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin and kaempeferol.