Abdel Aleem Bello^*(1)

(1). Plant Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Abdel Aleem Bello. E-Mail: abdelaleembello@gmail.com).

Received: 15/07/2018                                Accepted: 01/10/2018

Abstract

Syrian plants are a natural heritage and precious treasure, which efforts must be directed to study and discover their active constituents and benefits. One of these plants is Tribulus terrestris, which is naturally spread medicinal plant in Aleppo city. This research was carried out at the Laboratory of Plant Taxonomy and Medicinal Plants Research, Faculty of Science, Aleppo University, within the period 15/10/2017 and 5/6/2018. In this research, the active constituents in the extracts of this plant were detected using various chemical tests and specific reagents. Flavonoids, coumarins, glycosides, alkaloids, phenols and tannins were recorded in most extracts of the plant, while anthraquinones and fixed oils were not observed in any extract. Saponins were recorded in the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts and in the aqueous extract of the fruits. The present study was unique in detecting coumarins and diterpenes in this plant. It was concluded that many medical activities of this plant can be interpreted by having a wide range of active constituents. Refer to previous studies, it is believed that this research on Tribulus terrestris is the first of its kind at the local level.

Keywords: Tribulus terrestris, Phytochemical screening, Active constituents.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF