GC-MS analysis of fixed oil from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn seeds: Evaluation of antimicrobial,antileishmanial and urease inhibitory activities

In the present study,chemical composition of fixed oil (nnfo) obtained from nelumbo nucifera seeds was determined by gc-ms analysis which revealed the presence of 39 compounds mainly comprised of 20.8 % keto fatty acids with high content of methyl ester of palmitic acid (13.59 %) and methyl ester of 9-oxo-nonanoic acid (11.89 %). the other major constituents identified were; fumaric acid-3-methylbut-3-enyl nonyl ester,2-decenal and methyl ester of 9e-octadecenoic acid as 6.45 %,5.09 %,5.06 %,respectively. nnfo along with other fractions were tested for in vitro antimicrobial,antileishmanial and urease inhibitory assays. nnfo showed weak antibacterial activities against the tested bacteria while promising antifungal effect against candida albicans (68 %),candida glaberata (65 %) and aspergillus flavus (64 %). nnfo showed strong antileishmanial activity with ic50 = 7.34 ±0.72 as compared to reference drug (5.1± 0.29) probably due to the presence of keto-ene derivatives. nnfo showed weak urease inhibitory activity while the ethyl acetate fraction (n3) strongly inhibited both j.b. urease (ic50= 21.45 %) and b.p. urease (ic50= 28.65%) respectively. in conclusion,n. nucifera seeds fixed oil possess promising therapeutic potential as a new antifungal and antileishmanial agent. © 2016,chemical society of pakistan. all rights reserved.