Chromatographic and Spectrophotometric Analysis of Phenolic Compounds

Senna alata, previously known as Cassia alata is a medicinal plant basically used as antifungal and sometimes as antibacterial. It has been in use for a long time for the treatment of Tinea versicolor and ringworm infection. In recent times, people depend on medicinal plants such as S. alata without the knowledge of the chemical composition of the plant. Therefore, there is a need to ascertain this claim by examining the bioactive components that are present in the plant. This research is aimed at determining the phenolic compounds and the antimicrobial activities of S. alata extracts. The methanolic and ethanolic extracts were obtained using soxhlet apparatus and the concentrated extracts were purified using column chromatography; three fractions were eluted and screened for their antimicrobial activities. The phytochemical analysis was carried out and the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopic analysis was performed using a Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrophotometer. The Folin-Delis and Folin-Ciocalteu methods were used to quantify the total flavonoids and phenolics. The different concentrations of total Phenolic and total Flavonoid were measured by using UV- Visible Spectrophoto.