Isolation and identification of withasomnine, withanolides and butein from industrial herbal marc of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

Herbal pharmaceutical industries consume thousands of tonnes of herbs annually, with a major share consumed for preparation of aqueous extracts as part of production process. Marc, the byproduct of aqueous extraction process produced in similar quantities is considered to be devoid of hydrophilic compounds and of low economic value. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is a herb having high therapeutic and frequency index and their increasing consumption in the recent decades have resulted in upsetting the demand-supply equations. The shortage of W. somnifera justifies their efficient and wholesome utilization to augment the natural sources. The present study was undertaken to evaluate phytochemical constituents present in the marc of W. somnifera roots collected from an Ayurvedic pharmaceutical industry. The HPTLC and GC-MS analyses is revealed presence of different compounds in marc such as withanolides, as well as oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Isolation and characterization by UV-Visible, FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and Mass spectroscopy showed presence of withasomnine, an alkaloid and butein, a phenolic compound. The study explored potential for using marcs of W. somnifera produced in pharma industry as an alternate natural and economical source for pharmaceutically active compounds like polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc