Chemical and pharmacological study of the twigs of Thevetia peruviana plant and its bio-activity profiles

Thevetia peruviana is a native evergreen tropical shrub of Mexico and Central America primarily cultivated in India, and is a close relative to Nerium oleander. The seeds, flowers, leaves, barks, and roots of the plant have been extensively studied for their biochemical activity. This study was aimed to confirm the medicinal value in the twigs of Thevetia peruviana plant. It subsequently performed chemical and pharmacological experiments to determine the bioactivity in it by extracting, isolating, and characterizing bioactive compounds present therein.

Seventeen bio-active compounds were isolated using column chromatography technique that comprised of an eleven solvent system of increasing polarities used for its extraction procedure. Purified compounds were further characterized analytically and subsequently analyzed for various biological assays on its hydro alcoholic extract, that demonstrated a broad spectrum of bioactivity such as a four folds increase in B-cells proliferation in immunomodulation experiment, strong cytotoxicity observed in pancreas, lung, prostrate, breast and colon cancer cells and ten percent moderate anti-inflammatory activity. However, this extract did not demonstrate any anti-microbial activity.

This study confirms that the twigs of Thevetia peruviana can be considered as a candidate for bio-prospection and drug development for diseases such as anaemia, cancer, arthritis, and microbial allergies.