Abstrait

Preliminary Phytochemical Screening from Different Parts of Bauhinia tomentosa L. And Bauhinia malabarica Roxb. (Caesalpiniaceae)

K Thenmozhi, S Manian and S Paulsamy

In Indian traditional system of medicine, importance of Bauhinia species is well evidenced from earlier literature. Tender leaves, flowers and young pods of B. tomentosa and B. malabarica are consumed by various ethnic groups in India. In the present study, edible and therapeutically important plant parts of both the species were extracted with different solvents systems. Acetone extract of both the plants yielded substantial amounts of total phenolics, tannins, condensed tannins, flavonoids and vitamin C. The flower extracts of B. tomentosa registered higher phenolic, tannin and vitamin C contents, thereby justifying their traditional usage in medicine. Similarly, the seed extracts of these two species also exerted significantly (P<0.05) higher flavonoid and condensed tannin contents. Therefore on the basis of the present findings, both of the species of Bauhinia can be considered as a promising source in health, food and pharmaceutical industry.