Phytochemical Screening for Medicinal Plants: Guide for Extraction Methods
D. S. H. S. Peiris
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.
D. T. K. Fernando
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.
S. P. N. N. Senadeera
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka.
C. B. Ranaweera *
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Sri Lankans have relied on traditional medicine to meet their primary health needs since the beginning of time. This island is blessed with an enormous number of medicinal plants, which play a very important role in traditional medicine. However, the lengthy documented history of traditional medicine is still composed of medicinal plants, which are not scientifically proven to have the mentioned abilities or activities. To obtain scientifically sound information from this documented history of traditional medicine, extraction of the biologically active compounds from these medicinal plants is very important. Also, to maintain the accuracy of results obtained from in vitro and in vivo assays, it is important to consider the pre-extraction procedures as well as the evaporation and storage conditions of the extract. There are several extraction methods accessible in Sri Lanka. This research aims to review the pre-extraction preparation, extraction methods, evaporation techniques, and storage conditions of the plant extract. This review highlights that the reliability of phytochemical screening results is affected by the identification and authentication of the plant, pre-extraction procedures, menstruum utilized, method of extraction, and storage conditions.
Keywords: Sri Lanka, extraction methods, phytochemical screening, secondary metabolites, bio-active compounds, maceration, medicinal plants, identification and authentication