Qualitative and GC-MS Analysis of Phytoconstituents of Parthenium hysterophorus Linn.

Parthenium hysterophorus L. distributed throughout plain land includes roadsides in India and the tropics of the world. It infests pastures and farmland causing often disastrous loss of yield, is known as in common names such as famine weed, congress grass. Methanol extract of Parthenium hysterophoruslinn. was screened for their phytochemical constituents. Results on the qualitative analysis on the plant P. hysterophorus showed that the presence of steroids, sugars, alkaloids, tannins, quinines and phenols in all their three organs. The GC-MS analysis revealed that presence of 45 compounds in the leaves. The more predominated peak in phytol (30.27 %) in leaves, and this activity might be attributed to its higher content of diterpenes. The leaf proteins are reported to be better than cereal and legume proteins. It is used as spices in many parts of the world. Parthenin free dried fibres of plants are used as cattle feed. In Maharashtra and Gujarat (India) it is used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus,antibacterial, antitumor activity and also used as folk remedy for the treatment of infectious and degenerative diseases and find application in traditional, ethnomedicine for treatment of wounds, ulcerated sores, fever, anemia, fecundity and behavioral response and also against inflammatory, skin, neural diseases and female reproductive problems.