Qualitative and Qualitative Phytochemical Screening of Medicinal Herbal Ocimum Tulsi Leaves

Department of Pharmacy; Chemistry For Health, De Montfort UniversityThe drastic changes in human life style and food habits over the last century have led to various chronic diseases. Diabetes milletus is one such disease, which is causing serious problems to human health in all parts of the world. Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose levels due to defect in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Poor control of the condition can result in long term complication such as diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular disease, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Scientific reports revealed that diabetes cannot be cured completely. Current therapy for diabetes is centred around controlling blood sugar levels to keep them in the normal range. However, diabetes is often associated with dyslipidaemia and oxidative stress, which contributes to the damage caused to organs. Therefore, to adequately control diabetes, blood lipid levels and oxidative stress need to be controlled alongside blood glucose. The modern systems of medicine have not shown any significant effect for the treatment of the disease. There are also concerns about the cost and safety in long-term use for some of these 5th Annual International Conference on Health & Medical Sciences, 1-4 May 2017, Athens, Greece: Abstract Book 136 drugs. Hence focus has been turned towards traditional system of medicine. Medicinal plants play an important role in management of diabetes milletus. During the past few years many bioactive drugs have been isolated from plants. Herbal medicines have shown good clinical practice in the therapy of diabetic milletus. The genus Ocimum is of the basil family Lamiaceae, which contains approximately 150 species of aromatic plants that are found mainly in the tropical regions of the world. Many of these species have extensive medicinal applications in indigenous medicinal systems of countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Lamiaceae is one of the holiest and sacred herbs grown in India. This plant is known to possess antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antistress, Immunomodulatory, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive and antioxidant properties. Among these species are Ocimum sanctum L. or Ocimum tenuiflorum L., also known as Tulsi or Holybasil, an aromatic plant. There are two sub- types of Ocimum sanctum called Krishna tulsi which is the black-purple variety, and the white Vana tulsi. It is widely used in Ayurveda and Siddha system of medicine to cure various ailments. The dried powder of Tulsi was placed in the thimble of Soxhlet apparatus, distilled water employed as a solvent. The extract was concentrated using Rotavapor. Then the extract was dried in a digital water bath till a dark green residue was obtained. The percentage yield was 10%w/w. The test residue and powder was subjected to phytochemical analysis to find out the presence of phytochemical constituents and compared. The phytochemical tests employed for alkaloids and tannins, Cardiac glycosides, saponins, terpenoids and flavonoids. The latter are known for their strong antioxidant properties. Here reported investigation carried out to determine the qualitative and qualitative analysis of phytochemical screening and possible chemical components including assessment of antioxidant properties. The analytical techniques employed for chemical investigation comprised Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Thin Layer Chromatography, Mass Spectroscopy, Infrared spectrophotometry, UV and Visible spectroscopy, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.and scanning electron microscope. Ocimum sanctum L. leaves analysis of hydro alcoholic extract revealed mainly Eugenol, an important phytochemical bioactive compound of Ayurvedic and other marketed herbal formulations. This study is currently in progress