Morphological, Phytochemical and Fouriertransform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Spectroscopic Analysis of Selected Species of Portulacaceae: A Study

Morphological characters of plants to assess the differences or similarities in plant taxa and use these characters for plant identification. And also an attempt is made in the present study to analyze the functional group of active compounds present in the leaf and stem extract of selected species of Portulacaceae. Objective: To study morphological, phytochemical and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis of selected species of Portulaceae. Methodology: Physical examination and measurement of physiognomic features of fresh floral and vegetative sections of the plants were used to conduct a morphological study on the genus Portulaca. Phytochemicals were screened and analyzed with standard methods. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazylquenching assay were selected to investigate antioxidant free radical scavenging activity respectively. Result: Morphologically they are dissimilar. Leaves are needle in P. grandiflora and obovate in P. umbraticola. Petals are numerous in P.grandiflora and 5 in P. umbraticola. The result of preliminary phytochemical screening indicated that leaf and stem of both species. Both plants were free from steroids. Moreover, quantitative estimation of phytochemicals also exhibited that leaf and stem of both species. Secondary metabolites, which are abundant in plants and have fascinating biological activities, are an important source with a variety of structural arrangements and properties. They have a rich source of protein and have high antioxidant scavenging activity. Conclusion: Both species of Portulacaceae carry rich protein and have high therapeutic values. Therefore further efficacy and safety studies are encouraged on this potential herb with the hope of replacing some less effective ones in clinical practice especially for antidiabetic and anticancer.