Chemical Science Review and Letters ISSN 2278-6783 Chem Sci Rev Lett 2015, 4(16), 1275-1284 Article CS02204611 1275 Research Article Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrum and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis of Aerial Part of Maerua apetala Roth (Jacobs) Maria Louis Packia Lincy 1 , Veerabahu Ramasamy Mohan 1 * and Solomon Jeeva 2 1 Ethnopharmacology unit, Research Department of Botany, V.O.Chidambaram College, Tuticorin-628008, Tamil Nadu 2 Department of Botany, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Nagercoil-629003, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu Abstract The present study was carried out to characterize the bioactive constituents present in the aerial part of Maerua apetala Roth (Jacobs) using FT-IR and GC- MS. Preliminary phytochemical screening of aerial part of M. apetala showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, quinones, steroids, tannins, glycosides, sugars and fixed oils in the different extracts. The FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, alkyl, carbonyl, carboxylic, aldehydes, amine, phenyl nucleus and mono chlorinated compounds. The bioactive components of the ethanol extract of aerial part of Maerua apetala were investigated using Perkin-Elmer Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), while the mass spectra of the compounds found in the extract was matched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library. GC- MS analysis revealed that, twenty compounds were detected in ethanol extract of aerial part of M. apetala. Z-1 and 9-Hexadecadiene (35.92) was found to be the major components in the ethanol extract of M. apetala. The findings of the study provided evidences that various solvent extracts of the tested plant contained medicinally important bioactive compounds and it justifies their use in the traditional medicines for the treatment of various diseases as well as for nutritive purposes. Keywords: Maerua apetala, Phytochemical screening, FT-IR, Vitamin E, GC-MS *Correspondence V.R.Mohan Email: vrmohanvoc@gmail.com Introduction Since the beginning of human civilization, medicinal plants have been used by mankind for its therapeutic value [1]. Medicinal plants are of great importance to the health of individuals and communities. The medicinal value of these plants lies in some chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body. The most important bioactive constituents of plants are alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds [2]. Many of these indigenous medicinal plants are used as spices and food plants. They are also sometimes added to foods meant for pregnant and nursing mothers for medicinal purposes [3]. Plants have great potential uses, especially as traditional medicine and pharmacopoeial drugs. A large proportion of the world population depends on traditional medicine because of the scarcity and high costs of orthodox medicine. Medicinal plants have provided the modern medicine with numerous plant derived therapeutic agents. Many plants contain a variety of phytopharmaceuticals, which have found very important applications in the fields of agriculture, human and veterinary medicine. Natural products play a dominant role in the development of novel drug leads for the treatment and prevention of diseases [4-6]. A large number of medicinal plants and their purified constituents have shown beneficial therapeutic potentials [7]. Knowledge of the phytochemical constituents is very essential to facilitate search of the actual effectiveness of the plant in medicine. The plants are having numerous bioactive components which are identified ( at less than 1 ng )