Assessment of Proximate and Mineral Element Content of Crude Methanolic Extract of Clausena indica (Dals) Oliver Leaves in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Clausena indica (Dals.) Oliver commonly known as “mee-gon-karapincha” plant in Sinhala, belongs to family Rutaceae. In comparison to the other members of Rutaceae family in Sri Lanka, C. indica is a less common plant which is usually associated with rain forests. However, C. indica is frequently used in traditional medical practices in Sri Lanka, especially in fixing bone fractures and joint dislocations. It is rich in essential photochemical constituents and minerals. In the current study, proximate and mineral content of a crude methanol extract of C. indica were analyzed following the standard methods. Moisture content was analyzed by oven drying method and the value was 54.67 ± 0.00%. Total ash content was determined to be 3.00 ± 0.07% by AOAC methods. Rose-Gottlieb method was used to determine the total fat content, which was 1.32 ± 0.38%. The protein content determined by Kjeldahl method was 18.93% ± 0.73 and the total carbohydrate content was 22.08%. Mineral elements were analyzed according to AOAC official methods and Fe, Zn, Na, K contents were 9.08 ± 0.23 mg/100g, 1.99 ± 1.14 mg/100g, 0.15 ± 0.025 mg/100g, and 0.19 ± 0.04 mg/100g respectively. These findings revealed that the C. indica plant leaves are a rich source of Fe and Zn, which also has a significant amount of proximate composition.