Phytomedicinal Investigation from Six Mangrove Species,North Sumatra, Indonesia

Mangroves are salt tolerant plant and rich sources of secondary metabolites with potential medicinal value such as triterpenoids, alkaloids and phytosterols. These chemicals are promising active compounds for the development of novel bioactive agents. Phytomedicinal investigation of the fresh leaves and roots from six mangrove species, namely Acanthus ilicifolius, Bruguiera parviflora, Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora apiculata, Sonneratia caseolaris and Xylocarpus granatum from North Sumatra, Indonesia were analyzed to characterize their chemical profile. Identifications of the phytochemical structures were verified by comparison of their retention time on the GC column with those of authentic standards and on the interpretation of GC-MS spectra. Phytochemical screening yielded pentacyclic triterpenoids of lupane, oleanane and ursane group, cholesterol, phytol, squalene and phytosterols. Triterpenoids and phytosterols comprised the major proportion of compounds isolated. The triterpenoids and phytosterols consisted of 7 and 4 compounds, respectively. The major components of triterpenoids were lupeol, a-amyrin, b-amyrin and taraxerol. The main phytosterols consist of b-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol. These data are likely to contributing a raw material source for development of phytomedicinal and agrochemical constituents from mangroves.