Phytochemical analysis of nuts of Semecarpus anacardium using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high performance thin layer chromatography: Effect of Shodhana

Abstract

Background: Semecarpus anacardium (SA) has been classified in Ayurveda as a toxic plant. Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia has described the method of purification (known as Shodhana) to remove the toxic substances from this plant. Objective: SA nuts before and after Shodhana were treated with chromatographic methods to check the presence of phytoconstituents in it. Materials and Methods: Methanolic extracts of pre-shodhit methanolic (PSM) and shodhit methanolic (SM) SA nuts were studied for high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Nuts were measured for total phenolic and flavonoid content using gallic and quercetin as standard. Results: HPTLC studies have shown that PSM drug and SM drug Rf values were decreasing. GC-MS studies confirmed the presence of urushiol in PSM and anacardol in SM extracts. Conclusion: These research work states that Shodhana improves the yield, decreases the phenolic and flavonoid content and further converts toxic urushiol into nontoxic anacardol thereby reducing toxicity.