Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of ' .. Juniperus phoenicea L. Growing in Egypt

Abstract

Juniperus phoenicea L. belongs to family Cupressaceae. The Cupressaceae is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. It belongs to the Gymnosperm group with needle-leaved, cone-bearing trees (Silba, 1986, Van Royen, 1979). A survey of the chemistry, as well as the bioactivities of the plant J. phoenicea was carried out. Junipers have been widely used in folk medicine as diuretic, as urinary antiseptic for the treatment of infected urethra, bladder and ureters and for the treatment of kidney and bladder stones (Hoffmann, 1990 and Mills, 1994). J. phoenicea was used for the treatment of chronic cough, hemorrhoids and as antispasmodic (Ibn EI-Bitar, 1871, AI-Antaki, 1923 and Issa-Bey, 1930). The present work includes phytochemical screening, investigation of the lipoidal matter, isolation and identification of some compounds from fruits and leaves extracts and investigation of certain biological activities ofboth organs.

PART I: PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDY:

1. Preliminary Phytochemical Screening: • The dried powdered leaves contained high amounts of carbohydrates and/or glycosides, high amounts of sterols and/or triterpenes, moderate amounts of flavonoids and traces of saponins, while tannins, coumarins, anthraquinones and alkaloids were absent. • The dried powdered fruits contained high amounts of carbohydrates and/or glycosides, high amounts of sterols and/or triterpenes and moderate amounts of flavonoids, while saponins, tannins, coumarins, anthraquinones and alkaloids were absent.