Abstract

Abiodun Falodun1*, Sajjad Ali , Irfan Mohammed Quadir and Iqbal M. I Choudhary

Euphorbia heterophylla Linn (Euphorbiaceae) is a medicinal plant used by traditional herbal practitioners in Nigeria and some parts of West Africa for the treatment of constipation, bacterial and inflammatory disease conditions (arthritis and rheumatism). Powdered plant material was subjected to phytochemical screening using standard experimental procedures. The crude powdered sample of Euphorbia heterophylla leaves was extracted with n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and methanol. The precipitates from the fractions were subjected to chromatographic and re-crystallization procedures. The structures of isolated compounds were characterized and elucidated with chemical and spectroscopic techniques such as IR, NMR and MS experiments. The in vitro biological activity of the isolated and characterized compounds were evaluated by superoxide scavenging assay using xanthine – xanthine oxidase system to generate superoxides. The result of the study showed that the crude plant material contained some secondary metabolites such as saponins, flavonoids and tannins. The phytochemical investigation led to the isolation of four known compounds stigmasterol, - stigmasterol glucoside, benzoic acid and 4 – hydroxyl benzoic acid. The four compounds exhibited good activity against the xanthine oxidase enzymes while the 4-hydroxybenzoic acid showed a marked activity. The isolation of the compounds from the leaves of E. heterophylla, which inhibited the xanthine oxidase enzyme, has justified the claims for which the plant is known and used.