Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacognosy

Brachychiton acerifolius (Family Malvaceae) was formerly known as Sterculia acerifolia (family Sterculiaceae). The genus is reported for various chemical constituents & biological activities while little information is available on B. acerifolius, thus this thesis aimed at its phytochemical & biological investigation. Phytochemical screening of leaf, flower and seed samples revealed the presence of flavonoids, terpenes/sterols, tannins and carbohydrates in all organs, whereas, alkaloids were detected exclusively in seeds. The amino acids analysis of leaf detected the presence of 8 amino acids in free form, the major of which were serine (864 mg/100 g sample), phenyl alanine (846 mg/ 100 g sample) and alanine (756 mg/100 g sample). While upon hydrolysis; 14 amino acids were detected including glutamic acid (389.5 mg/100 g sample), aspartic acid (332 mg/100 g sample) & isoleucine (269 mg/100 g sample). GC/MS analysis of volatile content in leaves identified 50 compounds constituting 87.07 %, the major of which were oleamide (21.57 %), palmitic acid (6.25 %), squalene (5.41%), phytol (4.68%) & eugenol (3.49 %). UPLC/PDA/ESI-qTOF-MS detected 56 peaks derived from leaves, flowers & seeds including 30 flavonoids, 2 anthocyanins, 6 phenolic acids & 8 fatty acids

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