Urease Inhibition of Fixed Oils and Fractions of Caralluma tuberculata: Component Identification by GC-MS

The in vitro urease inhibitory activity of fixed oil and various organic fractions of Caralluma tuberculata followed by GC-MS analysis of the fixed oil are described in this research article. The fixed oil caused marked attenuation of jack bean urease with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.97 mg/ml. The similar urease inhibitory profile was observed for chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions with IC50 values of 3.36 and 4.90 mg/ml, respectively. GC-MS analysis led to the identification of 20 different constituents of the fixed oil by their m/z ratio and retention time in comparison with the standard compounds. The major constituents were methyl linoleate (30.97%) followed by methyl octadecadienoate (19.16%), ethyl linolenate (13.70 %), and methyl palmitate (9.86 %). The fixed oil and organic fractions of C. tuberculata exhibited marked urease inhibition and thus provide scientific background for use of the plant as antiulcer agent. (author)