WELCOME

COMPARATIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION, STRUCTURAL

CHARACTERIZATION AND PHARMACOLOGICAL SCREENING OF SOME
SELECTED CALOTROPIS SPECIES
A SYNOPSIS FOR DISSERTATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(FACULTY OF PHARMACY)
Submitted to
INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
AND
RESEARCH CENTRE
BHAGWANT UNIVERSITY, AJMER, RAJASTHAN
Submitted by
Pratibha Mishra
Research Scholar,
Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences
& Research Centre,
Bhagwant
University,

Guided and Supervised By

Dr. Khushwant S. Yadav
Director
Rajeev Gandhi College of Pharmacy
Bhopal, India

INTRODUCTI
ON
In India thousands of species are known to have medicinal value and the use of
different parts of several medicinal plants to cure specific ailments has been in
vogue since ancient times. Medicinal plants are a source of great economic value
in the Indian subcontinent.
Medicinal plants provide an important source of new chemical
substances with potential therapeutic effects. These have been
used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several
diseases.
The present research work will mainly focus on Comparative
Phytochemical Investigation, Structural Characterization and
Pharmacological Screening of Some Selected Calotropis Species
such as Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea.

AIM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The current study is to investigate the chemical similarities and
differences of different species of Calatropis.
The plant species of calotropis are very rich source of Phenols and
flavanoids, these constituents are responsible for various
pharmacological activities. So this is important to isolate and
identify them.
The roots of Calatropis gigantea and Calatropis Procera will be
compared to find out the similarities and differences in their
phytoconstituents by chemical studies involving qualitative and
quantitative estimation of phytochemical constituents.
Structural characterization will be done by modern analytical
technique such as NMR, Mass, IR and UV Spectroscopy.
Further studies will involve pharmacological evaluation (antidiabetic and anti-oxidant activities) of roots of different calatropis
species and Comparison of any appreciable anti-diabetic activity
and anti-oxidant activity and finding out which species is giving

PLANT PROFILE
CALOTROPIS PROCERA

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Gentianales
Family : Apocynaceae
Genus : Calotropis
Species : Calotropis procera

MORPHOLOGY OF PLANT

Flower: Flowers consist of 5 small triangular dirty white sepals, 5 thick ovate
petals (1cm x 1cm) which are white at the base and purple at the tips and 5
purple tipped stamens, which surround a white 5 lobed stigma.
Fruit: Fruits consist of green, spongy ovoid fruits (follicles), up to 15 cm long
by 10 cm wide. They split open to release plumed, papery light brown seeds with
a pappus of white filaments up to 6 cm long on one side.
Root: The root occurs in the entire condition. The bark is separated from the
wood 0.5-2.0 cm. in diameter bearing rootlets with diameter varying from 0.2 to
0.5 cm. externally whitish grey in colour, wrinkled in the fresh condition, plenty
of whitish latex exudes from cuts or wounds in the bark. Fracture is incomplete.
Leaf: Simple, opposite, sub-sessile, slightly thick, fleshy, coriacious, 10-15 cm.
long and 4.5 to 6.5 cm. broad, broadly cuneate, obovate or obovate oblong,
slightly cordate and auricled at base with tuff of short simple hairs on the upper
side near place of the attachment to the petiole

PHYTOCHEMISTRY
The leaves and stalk contain calotropin, and calotropagenin
The flower contains calotropenyl acetate, and multiflavenol and the latex
contains uzarigenin, and terpenol ester.
The root bark has also been found to possess -amyrin, -amyrin , lupeol,
-sitosterol and flavanols like quercetin-3-rutinoside.
The plant also has been investigated for the presence of cardenolides and
anthocyanins.

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
The pharmacological activities include anticancer, antifungal and
insecticidal activity of C. procera.
The flowers of the plant exhibit hepatoprotective activity, antiinflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, and antimicrobial effects and
larvicidal activity.
The latex of the plant is reported to possess analgesic and wound
healing activity, as well as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial
acivity.
The roots are reported to have anti-fertility and anti-ulcer effects.

CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Gentianales
Family : Apocynaceae
Genus : Calotropis
Species : C. gigantean

MORPHOLOGY OF PLANT
Large shrub or small tree up to 4-10m tall, much-branched at base, stems erect, up to 20 cm in
diameter; bark pale grey, longitudinally cracked; young shoots woolly hairy; latex in all parts.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, decussate, simple and entire, sessile; stipules absent; blade broadly
ovate to oblon g-obovate, 9.520 cm 612.5 cm, base cordate with semi-amplexicaul lobes,
apex almost acute, short-hairy beneath. Inflorescence an axillary, umbellate to almost corymbose
cyme up to 12.5 cm in diameter, peduncle 612 cm long, stout, secondary branches up to 2 cm
long.
Flowers: Flowers bisexual, regular, 5-merous, white, cream, lilac or purple; pedicel 2.54 cm
long, densely woolly hairy; calyx lobes broadly ovate, 46 mm 23 mm; corolla 2.54 cm in
diameter, lobes broadly triangular, 1015 mm 58 mm; corona with 5 narrow, fleshy scales,
laterally compressed, 611 mm long, adnate to and shorter than the staminal column, forming an
upturned horn with 2 rounded auricles on either side, cream or lilac to purple, with a dense
longitudinal dorsal row of short white hairs; ovary superior, 2-celled, gynostegium up to 1 cm
long, stigma head star - shaped.
Fruit: Fruit contain a pair of follicles, each follicle ovoid and boat-shaped, inflated, 6.510 cm
35 cm, many-seeded. Seeds are attached with abundant white coma and seeds are ovoid, 56
mm long, with 23 cm long coma at one end

PHYTOCHEMISTRY

Active principle appears to be a yellow, bitter resin.

Root bark contains two substances closely resembling alban and fluavil
found in gutta-percha.
Alkaloids are not present in this plant.

Early studies of latex yielded an amorphous, bitter principle, calotropin,

identical to mundarin.
Latex contains cardiac glycosides, calotopin, uscharin, calotoxin,
calactin and uscharidin; gigantin.

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
Root bark considered emetic, used as substitute for ipecac.
Latex is considered bitter, heating, purgative, caustic, acrid, expectorant, depilatory,
anthelmintic.
The latex calotropin, gigantin and uscharin have digitalis-like action on the heart.
Latex used to induce abortion and infanticide. Flowers are considered digestive,
stomachic, tonic.
Bark in small doses, dried and powdered, used as alterative and tonic; in larger doses,
an emetic.
The leaves are useful in the treatment of paralysis, arthralegia, swellings, and
intermittent fevers.
The powdered root used in asthama, bronchitis, and dyspepsia. Root-bark reported to
promote secretions and used for skin diseases, enlargement of the abdominal viscera,
intestinal worms, coughs, ascites, anasarca.

PLAN OF WORK
1. The extensive review of literature on Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea.
2. Collection of plant/preparation of herbarium sheet of the plants Calotropis Procera
and Calotropis Gigantea.
3. Extraction of the roots of Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea by using
suitable solvents.

4. Preliminary Phytochemical studies of Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea for

the detection of the type of phytoconstituents present.
5. Estimation of various phyotconstituents
a) Estimation of total Flavonoids content
b) Estimation of total Phenolic content
6. In-vitro Anti-oxidant Activity
a) DPPH Model
b) NO Model
7. Identification of marker compound by T.L.C.

8. Structural characterization is done by modern analytical technique

Ultraviolet Visible Spectroscopy
IR Spectroscopy
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
MASS Spectroscopy
9. Identification marker compound by U.V/ HPLC.
10. Acute oral toxicity studies of root extract as per OECD Guidlines.
11. Evaluation of root extract of Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea for
pharmacological Activity for Anti-diabetic effect.
12. Comparison of above datas.
13. Compilation and computation of data
14. Summary and conclusion

CONCLUSION
In the present study, an attempt will be made for Comparative Phytochemical
Investigation, Structural Characterization and Pharmacological Screening of Some
Selected Calotropis Species such as Calotropis Procera and Calotropis Gigantea.
The roots of Calatropis gigantea and Calatropis Procera will be compared to find
out the similarities and differences in their phytoconstituents by chemical studies
involving qualitative and quantitative estimation of phytochemical constituents.
Structural characterization will be done by modern analytical technique such as
NMR, Mass, IR and UV Spectroscopy.
Further studies will involve pharmacological evaluation (anti-diabetic and antioxidant activities) of roots of different calatropis species.

REFERENCES
Tapsell CL, Hemphill I, Cobiac L, Patch CS, Sullivan DR, Fenech M, et al. Health
benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future. Med J Aust 2006;185(4
Suppl):S4-24.
G. A. Mako, A. H. Memon, U. R. Mughal, Antibacterial Effects of Leaves and Root
Extract of Calotropis Procera Linn., Pak. J. Agri., Agril. Engg., Vet. Sci., 2012, 28 (2):
141-149
Daniel Dahiru, Augustine Amos and Sarah H. Sambo, Effect of Ethanol Extract of
Calotropis procera Root Bark on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatonephrotoxicity
in Female Rats, Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences, Volume 6, Number 3,
September .2013, Pages 227 230
Baby Joseph, Jency George, Jeevitha MV, Sisssy Charles.2013. Pharmacological and
Biological overview on Calotropis gigantea. A Comprehensive Review. Int. Res J
Pharm. App Sci., 3(5):219-223
Argal, A. and Pathak, A.K.CNS activity of Calotropis gigantea roots.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2006, 106(1): 142- 145.

THANK YOU