Preliminary Phytochemical Studies on Some Ethnobotanically Important Medicinal Plants Used by Thottianaickans of Semmalai

Objective: Plants play a vital role in human and domestic animals health care practices. Curing diseases using plants was practiced from ancient and primitive times and continued even now among the tribal’s in various countries. It is widely confirmed that curative property of medicinal plant is mainly related to the presence of secondary metabolites in the plants. Hence, four ethnobotanically important plants were screened for their phytoconstituents. Methods: Presence of Steroids, Glycosides, Cardiac glycosides, Steroids, Anthraquinones glycosides, Saponins glycosides, Alkaloids, Tannins, Phenolic compound, Flavonoids, Saponins and Terpenoids were screened following standard qualitative methods. Results: All the selected medicinal plants were found to consist of Flavonoids, Steroids, Cardiac glycosides, Alkaloids, Tannins, and Terpenoids. And glycosides and phenolic compounds were absent in all plants. Anthraquinones glycosides are present only in Curcuma longa. Conclusion: At the point of culmination, it is started that, Justicia tranquebariensis, Curcuma longa, Tribulus terrestris and Aloe vera are holding a vital therapeutically important compounds such as Alkaloids, Tannins, and Terpenoids.