Comparative Phytochemical Profiling and Quantification of Mangiferin Content in Species of Salacia from Southern Western Ghats of India.

Many species of the genusSalaciaL. are used in traditional Indian systems of medicines for their anti-diabetic potential. In this study, we carried out a comparative phytochemical evaluation of the roots of nine species ofSalaciaviz. S. agasthiamalana, S. beddomei, S. brunoniana, S. chinensis, S. fruticosa, S. gambleana, S. malabarica, S.oblongaandS. wayanadica,which are distributed in the Southern Western Ghats. Qualitative profiling showed the presence of different phytochemicals. Subsequently quantification of mangiferin, the prominent anti-diabetic molecule was carried out using HPLC in all these species. S. brunoniana(2.586 mg/g of dry root) showed maximum mangiferin content, followed byS. beddomei(2.195),S. chinensis(1.57), S. fruticosa(1.055), S. oblonga(0.305),S. agasthiamalana(0.086),S. malabarica(0.0296),S. gambleana(0.0218) andS. wayanadica(0.0005). The presence of mangiferin inS. agasthiamalana,S. beddomei,S. brunoniana,S. gambleana, S. malabaricaandS. wayanadica, are reported for the first time. The study identified thatS. brunonianaandS. beddomeicould be the most promising raw material for anti-diabetic drug formulations based on mangiferin content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]