ISOLATION, PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A DIHYDROFLAVONOL FROM SUDANESE CISTANCHE PHELYPEA STEMS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE ETHANOL EXTRACT

Phytochemical screening of Cistanche phelypea stems revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins steroids, saponins, terpenes and alkaloids. A flavonoid - compound (I)- was isolated from ethanol extract by thin layer chromatography and its structure was partially characterized on the basis of its spectral data (IR, UV, NMR). The ethanol extract of Cistanche phelypea was screened for antimicrobial activity against five standard human pathogens : Bacillus subtilis (Gram((+ve), Staphylococcus aureus (Gram (+ve), Pseudomonas aeroginosa (Gram(–ve), Escherichia coli(Gram (–ve) and the fungal species Candida albicans.The ethanolic extract of Cistanche phelypea was inactive against the test bacteria,but it gave good antifungal activity against the yeast: Candida albicans.In the DPPH assay, the ethanol extract of Cistanche phelypea stems exhibited significant antioxidant activity close to that of the positive control propyl gallate.