Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Qualitative, quantitative and GC-MS based phytochemical profiling of Aristolochia rethyae leaves: a newly discovered species from Arunachal Pradesh, India
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Research Article | Published: 17 August, 2026
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Keywords: n Aristolochia rethyaen , Bioactive compounds, Extraction, GC-MS analyses
Abstract
Aristolochia rethyae Kashung, Barman & Gajurel (Aristolochiaceae) is a recently discovered plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India, with a climbing habit. Since, this is a newly introduced species to the world flora, and no studies have been conducted on the phytochemical properties of the species earlier. Therefore, the present study was aimed to explore the presence of dominant phytochemical compounds in the leaves of this plant and further evaluate them for human utilisation. Preliminary qualitative screening of secondary metabolites using five different solvent extracts viz., petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous, shows the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, proteins, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids and steroids, with maximum occurrence in the methanolic extract.The quantitative estimation revealed that the methanolic extract exhibited the highest total phenolic (45.06 ± 0.81 mg GAE/g extract) and total flavonoid (137.97 ± 0.43 mg QE/g extract) contents among all the solvent extracts. The phytochemical composition of the plant leaf extracts was determined by GC-MS analysis using four different solvents, viz., petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The results revealed the presence of 109 phytochemical compounds across 23 classes of functional groups. The major compounds obtained from the A. rethyae were Nonacosan-14-one (41.51%), n-Tridecan-1-ol (13.94%),1-Tridecene (13.07%), 1-Octadecene (11.33%), 9-Eicosene, (E)- (11.14%), n-Heptadecanol-1(10.88%), 1-Heneicosanol (10.46%), 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol (9.73%), 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) propanoic acid (8.97%), Cyclopropane, nonyl- (8.43%), Trifluoroacetic acid, pentadecyl ester (7.57%), Octacosanal (5.31%), dl-α-Tocopherol (4.94%), Dodecane (4.69%), Cholest-4-en-3-one (4.6%), Acetic acid, butyl ester (4.21%), Benzene,1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)- (3.93%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (3.75%), Phytol (3.55%), Octadecanoic acid (3.32%) and Squalene (3.07%). Among these identified compounds, n-Tridecan-1-ol, 1-Tridecene, 1-Octadecene, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) propanoic acid and Benzene-1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) are being reported for the first time from a plant source; whereas Trifluoroacetic acid, pentadecyl ester, are new compounds identified from the genus Aristolochia. Further research work on this plant species is expected to validate and establish its bioactive and therapeutic significance, thereby contributing to the development of novel drug discovery approaches.
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Author Information
Plant Microbe Interaction and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology, Nirjuli, India