PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF DESMODIUM TRIFLORUM LEAVES

*Nitin Kumar and Saravanan K.

ABSTRACT

Desmodium triflorum is mostly herb or shrub is belongs to the family Fabaceae. Desmodium triflorum contains alkaloids including N, N-dimethyl tryptophan methyl ester, dimethyltryptamine-N-oxide, hypaphorine (structurally relatedto plakohypaphorine), phenylethylamine, hordenine, tyramine, and trigonelline. Desmodium triflorum DC contains ursolic acid, vitexin, genistin, fucosterol. Desmodium triflorum plant given in eye diseases, spleen disorders, colic, diarrhea, menorrhagia, breast pain. Leaves used as galactogougue, good in diarrhea, dysentery and convulsion. Leaves are also used as antiseptic. Roots are used in cough, asthma, used as antiseptic and diuretic. In the present study, leaf powder of Desmodium triflorum has been investigated for isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds. The isolation and characterization of betasitosterol, stigmasterol were confirmed by spectroscopic methods.

Keywords: Desmodium triflorum, Creeping tick trefoil, Steroids, betasisterol, stigmosterol.