Estimation and Quantificaiotn of Secondary metabolites and Comparative Quantification of Azadirachtin in Neem (Azadirachta Indica) Leaf Samples Collected from the Regios with Different Pollution and Population Levels

Abstract

The present investigation is based on the hypothesis that the pollution and urbanization condition of different regions affect the phytochemical profile of the medicinal plants. To justify the hypothesis, the leaf samples of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Neem) grown in different pollution and urbanization conditions were evaluated for their Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), total phenolic (TP) and total flavonid (TF) contents. HPLC method was employed to quantify the amount of azadirachtin present in the leaf extracts of neem. The result showed that the highest azadirachtin content was found in the extract of the sample belonging to Modipuram drainage area (60.7 J.lg/ml HPLC water), that is a heavily polluted area. The result of MIC had shown that the leaf extracts belonging to higher pollution and urbanization area were effective at lesser concentrations against Salmonella typhi. The results of TP content expressed in Gallic acid equivalents ranged from 22.3±3 to 289.5± 1 J.lg/mg in the leaf extracts. Likewise, the content of TF expressed in quercetine equivalents ranged from 25.1±0.1 to 78.3±4.5. The wide difference in the phytochemical profile of the neem plants indicates that there is a need to enforce the quality control measures in the pharmaceutical sectors related to the formulation of neem based drugs, so that to avoid the loss of active ingredients in the formulations.