2023, Vol. 11, Issue 3, Part A

Crescentia cujete is a small evergreen tree, commonly known as the calabash tree belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. The mature fruits of Crescentia cujete have a woody shell with a pulpy flesh. In folklore medicine, the fruit is used to treat several ailments especially respiratory diseases and problems related to infection and inflammation. In the present study the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the major bioactive molecules present in the fruit extract of Crescentia cujete is investigated.

Preliminary phytochemical study detected the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol and saponin in all the fruit extracts. Quantitative estimation of these biomolecules indicated that these are present in moderate to high concentration in the fruit extract. These phytochemicals are known for their antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Hence, the therapeutic potential of the fruit can be correlated with these bioactive phytochemicals detected in the current investigation.