PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILES OF AERIAL PARTS OF LIPPIA NODIFLORA L

Lippia nodiflora L. is an important medicinal plant of Verbenaceae family and are used traditionally for several ailments. The present study deals with the detailed physicochemical, fluorescence and phytochemical evaluation of aerial parts of Lippia nodiflora L., in order to explore the authentic plant material suitably for its traditional claims. The physicochemical evaluations and fluorescence analysis were determined as per standard protocols. Phytochemical constituents of dried plant material were carried out by both qualitative and quantitative methods. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyze the phytochemical constituents of the methanol extract. Analysis of physicochemical parameters of the powdered aerial parts showed that total ash was approximately two times more than water insoluble ash and alcohol soluble extractive value was higher than water soluble extractive value. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the positive result for the presence of flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins and phenolics. Quantitative analysis showed that the methanolic extract consist of high phenolic compounds (98.31 +/- 0.004 mg GAE/g) followed by total flavonoids (60.88 +/- 0.001mg QE/g) and flavonols (27.46 +/- 0.002 mg QE/g). Total tannin and saponin content was found to be 5.97 +/- 0.021mg TAE/g and 3.52 +/- 0.017mg DE/g respectively. The major chemical components of methanolic extract of L. nodiflora determined by GC-MS were 2, 7-dioxatricyclo [ 4.3.1.0 (3, 8)] decan-4-one (35.75%), stigmasterol (16.86%), benzoic acid, 4-etoxy-, ethyl ester (13.73%), azacyclotridecan-2one (11.86%) and n-hexadecanoic acid (10.12%). The results of the present study provide preliminary referential information of the plant and also serve as an investigative tool for the appropriate identification. The presence of various chemical constituents suggests that this plant exhibit rich phytopharmaceutical importance.