ABSTRACT

The present work deals with extraction, isolation and characterization of phytoconstituents from seeds of Caesalpinia crista Linn and the study of their antiplasmodial activity. The phytoconstituents were extracted using soxhlet apparatus and separated by column chromatography. Structural elucidation was done by FTIR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Terpenoid, saponin and steroidal glucocorticoid were successfully isolated and identified. These constituents were tested for antimalarial activity using Peter’s 4 day suppressive test. Antiplasmodial efficacy was evaluated by parasitemia levels, percentage inhibition, packed cell volume (PCV), survival period, body weight and rectal temperature change. From the ethyl acetate extract, the fractions obtained with a solvent system hexane:chloroform (4:6 v/v), hexane:chloroform (1:9 v/v) and chloroform:ethyl acetate (6:4 v/v) exhibited promising antimalarial activity and particularly first constituent showed significant (P<0.001) antiplasmodial activity than other two phytoconstituents in comparison with positive and negative control.