ABSTRACT:
Luffa acutangula is a common plant grown in villages of Tamilnadu. It is generally known as Perkangai in Tamil and Ridge gourd in English. In the present study, Luffa acutangula peel was extracted with water and subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening. The study was extended to identify the phytocomponents in the Luffa acutangula peel aqueous extract using GC – MS (Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry) analysis. The preliminary phytochemical screening of aquoeus extract of Luffa acutangula peel showed the presence of Flavanoids, Carbohydrates, Aminoacids, Proteins, Phenols, Quinones, Terpenoids, Coumarins, Saponins, Tannins, and Leucoanthocyanidines. GC- MS results showed the presence of six bioactive compounds in the aqueous extract of Luffa acutangula peel. The major compounds identified includes Hexadecanoic acid, Pectolinaringenin, Benzofuran, 4-methyl – 2- 4- bis (p-hydroxyphenyl) pent-1-ene, Cis-13- Octadecenoic acid and Ethanone, 1 (2 – hydroxyl – 5- methyl phenyl). Hexadecanoic acid was the predominant compound present in Luffa acutangula peel aqueous extract with retension time of 15.15 minutes and peak area of 24.73%.