PHARMACEUTICAL STUDY OF STEROIDAL COMPOUNDS AND ESSENTIAL OIL COMPONENTS OF SENECIO VULGARIS LINN. GROWN IN IRAQ

Objective: Senecio vulgaris Linn. generally known as common groundsel, known in Iraq as Sheikh Al-Rabeeor Al-Kurresa, which is widely distributed in the south and middle parts of Iraq. There was no systemic study in the literature regarding the phytoconstituents that are present in Iraqi’s Senecio vulgaris Linn. Thus, the present study was aimed to examine the presence of some biologically important secondary metabolites that are present in this plant as well as investigate the essential oil components and their percentage presenting it. Method: The steroid rich fraction was subjected to analytical thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis in order to identify the presence of steroidal compounds, after authentication and by comparison of these steroids with their standards. Also, the essential oil obtained from this plant by Clevenger apparatus was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the types and quantities of the monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, and triterpenoids present. Results: The qualitative analysis performed by TLC and HPLC revealed the presence of biologically active secondary metabolites such as stigmasterol and β-sitosterol is a steroidal rich fraction. GC-MS revealed the presence of different types of terpenoids present in essential oil obtained from Senecio vulgaris plant. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate the presence of many important secondary metabolites in the steroid rich fraction and the volatile oil obtained from Iraqi Senecio vulgaris L, which has not been examined before in Iraq. Also, this study provides researchers a good idea about the types and the percentage of the volatile oil present in this plant.