Comparative studies of Volatile Components of the essential Oil of leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus growing in Bangladesh by GC-MS analysis

Abstract

Catharanthus roseus is an important medicinal plant commonly known as Madagasker
periwinkle. Traditionally different parts of its used in the treatment of various diseases (e.g.
diabetes, menstrual regulators, hypertension, cancer and antigalactogogue etc.) in number of
countries. The essential oil of leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus growing in
Bangladesh were investigated by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrophotometery
(GC-MS) to determined the chemical composition of the volatile fraction and identify their
chemotypes. Quantification of active principles through analytical tools is essential for
establishing the authenticity and credibility. Extraction by steam distillation and analysis with
GC-MS have been shown to be valuable tools for the identification of the constituents of
essential oil of leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus and can provide a useful guide
about the variation of the components. The main objective of the present study was focused
on identification and quantification of chemical constituents present in the essential oil of
leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus by GC-MS methods. 24 compounds consisting
(95.99%) of the total for the case of leaves were identified. And total 10 compounds
consisting (98.20%) of the total for the case of flowers of Catharanthus roseus were
identified by GC-MS analysis in Bangladesh. For the case of leaves the identified components
were : terpenoids (75.41%) , alkanes (6.0%) , aldehydes (5.5%), fatty acids (3.6 %),
ketones (3.2%), alcohol (2.28%) respectively. For the case of flowers the identified
components fatty acid esters (98.20) % respectively.