Abstract:

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni belongs to the family Asteraceae. It is a perennial shrub and the plant is native to South America. The plant leaf has been used for centuries for its sweetness and other medicinal properties. Stevia has gained importance among the consumers and food industry because of its role in treating obesity, diabetes, and other related commodities. The phytoconstituents of the plant are non-toxic and used to cure various chronic diseases. In various food industry it is used as a low-calorie sweetener. The present study was designed to identify the phytocomponents using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) in the ethanolic leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana. The results revealed the presence of 40 compounds in the chromatogram of GC-MS based on the retention time and area percentage. The major secondary metabolites identified were Oleic acid (RT- 26.431; 100%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (RT -20.999; 89%), 9,12, Octadecadienoic acid (RT-26.685;80%), Phytol (RT-25.306;11.67%), Isosteviol (RT-35.903;6.595%), Hydroxydehydrostevic acid (RT- 36.03; 20.92%), 1-Heptatriacotanol (RT-35.01;2.31%), Vitamin E (40.334; 2.34%) and Campesterol (41.25; 3.72%). The findings of the result concluded that the plant might contain the major bioactive compounds responsible for various biological and pharmacological activities.

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