Abstract

The presence of various secondary metabolites in the crude plant extracts have always been a source of potential therapeutic activities in animals and humans. The varying phytochemical composition and concentrations are instrumental in deciding and shortlisting raw materials for extractions and isolation of active compounds. Therefore, preliminary phytochemical screening of the plant extracts along with their high-performance thin layer chromatography analysis for classes of compounds become prerequisite for any type of pharmacological study. Detailed profiling of secondary metabolites like cardiac glycosides, triterpenoids and steroids which are found to be instrumental in inducing contraception in male experimental model organisms will help us further understands the mechanism of natural male contraception. In this study, crude seed extracts of Carica papaya Linn., Momordica charantia Linn. and Abrus precatorius Linn in suitable solvents were checked for the high-performance thin layer chromatography profiling of the above-mentioned metabolites. The results obtained were recorded and analysed for repeated authentication of plant parts and standardisation of extract preparation.