Gas Chromatography aided Mass Spectral Fingerprinting of Volatile Phytoconstituents from Torilis leptophylla Roots

Torilis leptophylla commonly known as bristle fruit hedge parsley is widely acknowledged for its potential to treat liver and gastrointestinal disorders. Till today no scientific evidence has been reported to support this claim. So the present investigation was carried out to get an inclusive picture of volatile phytoconstituents of Torilis leptophylla. Hyphenated chromatographic technique revealed the presence of 11 VOC’s from n-Hexane extract and 5 from chloroform extract. Identified compounds belonged to different classes including terpenes, esters, phenols, hydrocarbons and alcohols. Among alcohols, falcarinol was revealed to be a de-novo antifungal agent not previously reported in the genus Torilis. These analytical/structural chemical investigations highlighted a first metabolic pattern associated with the use of this plant as a folk medicine for the cure of various infectious diseases. Moreover, they ratified that the metabolic pool of phytochemicals can play a noteworthy role in drug discovery and development.