Vol. 10, Issue 1 (2021)

Author(s):
Sreelekshmi U, Ghadevaru Sarathchandra, Vijayarani K and Preetha SP

Abstract:
Adhatoda vasica Nees or vasaka is a plant that is widely used in indigenous system of medicine for its expectorant activity. The plant is also useful for the treatment of cough, asthma, leprosy and other skin diseases. Vasicine (peganine) is a quinazoline alkaloid that is the major phytochemical component of the plant. In addition to vasicine, vasaka plant also contains numerous alkaloids like vasicinone, deoxy vasicine, vasicinol etc. The work aims to provide an easy and cheaper method for the extraction of vasicine from the leaves of Adhatoda vasica. In this work, vasicine was isolated from the leaves of Adhatoda vasica by the modification of traditional acid base extraction method. The alkaloid mixture isolated from the leaves was further purified by column chromatography and preparative Thin Layer Chromatography. Purified vasicine was confirmed using standard vasicine obtained from Natural Remedy, Bangalore, by observing under UV light at 254 nm. Rf value of purified vasicine was obtained as 0.561 ± 0.039, while the reference standard showed Rf value of 0.55.