PHYTOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDY OF CERTAIN PLANTS BELONGING TO GENUS PELARGONIUM FAMILY GERANIACEAE, CULTIVATED IN EGYPT.

Abstract

bs with scented leaves of various odours, which range from pleasantly fruity or floral to rather balsamic. Pelargonium species are native to South Africa and commercially grown for production of essential oil in Egypt. Pelargonium species were also successfully employed in modern phytotherapy for their antioxidant, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects. Other reported biological activities were nematocidal activity, insect repellent effects, and tropical haemostatic effects. The reported pharmacological studies on genus Pelargonium indicated that the essential oils could be used as relaxant agents in aromatherapy products due to their spasmolytic activities. Reviewing the current literature reports on the plants were scanty, so it deemed interesting to investigate the chemical constituents and biological activities of the plants, aiming to verify the possible medicinal use. The aim of this thesis is to investigate both the biological activity and phytochemical constituents of Pelargonium x fragrans Willd. and Pelargonium peltatum L’Hérit.