Phytochemical Analysis of the Leaf and Flower Extracts of Peltophorum Pterocarpum

Jean Tony Amalya J and V. Judia Harriet Sumathy
Postgraduate and Research Department of Biotechnology, Women’s Christian College, Chennai – 600 006.

A B S T R A C T
Nature is our greatest medicine cabinet. It has provided mankind with numerous cures even for deadly diseases. Still there are so many cures that lie untapped in earth’s ecosystem and many researches are being done in order to find the cures for many illnesses. Under natural conditions, P. pterocarpum is a lowland species, rarely occurring above an altitude of 100 m. It frequently grows along beaches and in mangrove forests, especially the inner margins of mangroves. The species prefers open forest conditions. Peltophorum pterocarpum grows in tropical climates with a dry season of 1-3 months. The tree prefers light to medium free draining alkaline soils although it tolerates clay soils. Leaves are large, 30-60 cm long, with 8-10 pairs of pinnae each bearing 10-20 pairs of oblong leaflets which are 0.8-2.5 cm long with oblique bases. Flowering occurs from March-May, although sporadic flowering may occur throughout the year (particularly in young trees), and a second flush of flowers may occur in September-November. Flowers are orange-yellow, each about 2.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, particularly at night; inflorescence is brown-tomentose and the panicles are terminal with rust-coloured buds. Fruits are 1-4 seeded pods, flat, thin, winged, 5-10 cm long, dark red when ripe, then turning black. Peltophorum pterocarpum has a deep root system. The specific epithet ‘pterocarpum’ alludes to its winged seed. The present study is undertaken to analyse the phytochemical properties of the leaf and flower extracts of Peltophorum pterocarpum.
Keywords: Nature, Ecosystem, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Phytochemical Analysis and Cure.