Identification of Medicinal Organic Components of Andrographis paniculata Leaf Extracts

Active metabolites of methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts of the leaves of Andrographis paniculata were identified using thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results from this study identified some of active metabolites as andrographolide, 14-deoxyandrographolide, neoandrographolide, 14-deoxy-11,12-di-dehydroandrographolide, andrographanin, isoandrographolide, 14-acetylandrographolide, 19-O-andrographolide, beta-sitosterol and 14-deoxy-14,15dihydroandrographolide. Ethanol was a more effective solvent for the extraction as most of the phytochemicals were identified in this extract. Research had shown that extracts from the leaves of the plant possess a lot of therapeutic properties such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, immune modulatory and antimalarial activities which are of immense benefit to man.