PROXIMATE, MACRO ELEMENTAL AND GC-MS ANALYSIS OF SORBARIA TOMENTOSA

Abstract

Sorbaria tomentosa (LindI.) of family Rosaceae, is a wild, medicinal, ornamental, large, woody plant locally known as “Karhee or Berre”, native to Pakistan. Proximate composition gives important information to assess the suitability of medicinal flora or their extracts taken orally by the trivial communities. In the current study, different proximate parameters like carbohydrate, ash, protein, moisture content and fat, along with carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur were analyzed in whole plant of S. tomentosa. The results revealed the occurrence of considerable proportion of carbohydrates (52%) and protein (23.80%). Moisture, fat and ash contents were found in small content 6.25, 2.02 and 0.20%, respectively. Elemental analysis displayed the greater content of carbon (44.92%) followed by content of hydrogen (6.16%), nitrogen (5.17%) and sulphur (0.43%). GC-MS analysis of n-hexane fraction of S. tomentosa led to identification of five compounds viz., 3, 13-Dimethylpentadecanoic acid (1), 2, 4-Dimethyltetradecanoic acid (2), 2, 4-Heptadecadienoic acid; Etester (3), 2-Butylcyclopropanedodecanoic acid (4) and Heptadecanoic acid; Et ester (5). Toxicity tests, further isolation and identification of active constituents of test weed could confirm the discovery of novel plant drugs and safety in administration.