Volatile Phytochemicals of Sterculia foetida Leaf Detected through GC-MS and their Associated Biological Properties Divulged through Meta-analysis

Sterculia foetida is commonly called as wild Indian almond belonging to the family Malvaceae. In present study analysed leaf samples from 8 different sources from south Gujarat region to detect the volatile phytochemicals through in nontargeted gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS). In total, 38 volatile phytochemical compounds were detected in S. foetida leaves. Based on the relative area percentage, Lupeol, Squalene, dl-α-Tocopherol, ß-Amyrin and D-Friedoolean-14-en-3-ol were top 5 having respective area percentage of 17.16, 11.39, 11.35, 10.12 and 8.11. These were followed by another important ones namely Phytol, Sitosterol, Neophytadiene, 24-Noroleana-3,12-diene and Stigmasterol. Furthermore, compounds like ß-Tocopherol, Campesterol, γ-Tocopherol, and d-Tocopherol with important biological activities were also detected. The meta-analysis for corroboration of biological activities revealed that most represented biological properties were antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial by 14, 9, 8 and 6 compounds. Furthermore, although represented by a smaller number of compounds, were anti-diabetic, antifungal (4 compounds each), analgesic, antidepressant (3 compounds), anti-allergic, anti-pyretic, anti-ulcer (2 compounds), anti-cancer, anti-tumour, antispasmodic, anti-aging, anti-HIV-1 and other various biological properties (1 compound each). Thus, S. foetida leaf is a store house of array of important chemical compounds and their derivatives with important biological activities.