Phytochemical Profile of Erythrina variegata by Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy Analyses

Natural products derived from plant sources have been utilized to treat patients with numerous diseases. The phytochemical constituents present in ethanolic leaf extract of Erythrina variegata (ELEV) were identified by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analyses. Shade dried leaves were powdered and extracted with ethanol for analyses through HPLC to identify selected flavonoids and through GC-MS to identify other molecules. The HPLC analysis of ELEV showed the presence of gallic and caffeic acids as the major components at concentrations of 2.0 ppm and 0.1 ppm, respectively, as well as other components. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 3-eicosyne; 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol; butanoic acid, 3-methyl-3,7-dimethyl-6-octenyl ester; phytol; 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diundecyl ester; 1-octanol, 2-butyl-; squalene; and 2H-pyran, 2-(7-heptadecynyloxy) tetrahydro-derivative. Because pharmacopuncture is a new evolving natural mode that uses herbal extracts for treating patients with various ailments with minimum pain and maximum effect, the results of this study are particularly important and show that ELEV possesses a wide range of phytochemical constituents, as indicated above, as effective active principle molecules that can be used individually or in combination to treat patients with various diseases.