GC-MS ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF BIOACTIVITIES OF KAEMPFERIA PARISHII - A NATURAL SOURCE OF TOTAROL

Objective: The present study was aimed for phytoconstituent analysis, in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of leaf and rhizome extracts of an unexplored plant, Kaempferia parishii (Zingiberaceae).Methods: The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine volatile chemical constituents. Antioxidant activity of extracts was determined using DPPH assay whereas the antimicrobial effects were tested by inhibition zone diameter and minimum inhibitory concentration.Results: GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of 7 and 8 identified components accounting for 92.1% and 82.86% of the leaf and rhizome extract of Kaempferia parishii respectively. In leaf extract phytol (72.55±0.5%), hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (4.94±0.2%), hexahydro farnesyl acetone (3.78±0.2%), dibutyl phthalate (3.31±0.2%) were found to be the major constituents and those of rhizome extract were totarol (74.96±0.86%), cembrene (2.83±0.2%), borneol (1.23±0.15). Both the extracts exhibited low to moderate antioxidant activity. They possess very weak activities against some tested microorganisms while the extracts had no activity against some microorganisms.Conclusion: Totarol, an antimicrobial agent, was found to be the major constituent of Kaempferia parishii rhizome extract. Thus, Kaempferia parishii can be used as a natural source of totarol. This is the first report on the unexplored plant, Kaempferia parishii.Keywords: Kaempferia parishii, GC-MS analysis, Totarol, Phytol, Antioxidant activity, Antimicrobial activit