Abstract:
Medicinal plants are universally used in the management of various diseases in different
medical practices. A varied diversity of compounds extracted from plants may show anticancer,
antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Comparative laboratory studies and scientific approach of
efficacy related to phytochemicals found in medicinal plants in Sri Lanka have not been reported
yet. This study aims to evaluate the phytochemicals in selected four different plant seeds such
as Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, Brassica alba (L.) Rabenh, Trigonella foenum-graecum L.
and Nigella sativa L., which are used in the management of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka. The
ethanol extracts of plant seeds were subjected to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the
phytochemicals using recommended laboratory techniques. Data were analyzed by Analysis of
Variance using a Statistical Analysis System (SAS) statistical package. The qualitative analysis
showed that flavonoids, tannins, phenols, alkaloids, and saponins were present in all medicinal
seed extracts. Based on quantitative analysis, flavonoids were found in all seed extracts, and higher
amount was found in S. cumini (527.77 µg QE/g) followed by T. foenum-graecum (194.66 µg
QE/g). S. cumini seeds contain higher phenolics (416.01 µg GAE/g), alkaloids (81.07 mg/g), and
tannins (34.04 µg TAE/g) contents than other seed extracts. This study revealed that all these
medicinal seeds, especially S. cumini, has potential as prepared standard functional products in the
traditional system of medicine.
