www.wjpr.net Vol 3, Issue 4, 2014. 213 Shehab et al. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research BIOACTIVITY AND COMPOSITION OF THE FLOWERS OF SPATHODEA CAMPANULATA P. BEAUV Naglaa G. Shehab * , Hanaa H. Eid and Soheir M. El Zalabani Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kaser Al-Aini street,11562, Cairo, Egypt. ABSTRACT Among plant metabolites, phenolics were found to possess a wide spectrum of biological activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ethanol extract of the flowers of Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. (EEFSC) in terms of bioactivity and composition. Special emphasis was made on its phenolic components. The LD 50 of EEFSC (up to 4 g/kg) indicated its safety. The growth inhibitory activity of EEFSC, and its hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions was evaluated in-vitro against a set of micro- organisms and 2 human tumor cell lines (breast and colon). The chloroform fraction exhibited the highest antibacterial effect and the least IC 50 against both cell lines. The anthelmintic and acute anti-hyperglycemic potentialities of EEFSC were also explored and found noticeably significant. RP-HPLC with UV detection was employed for identification and quantification of the floral phenolics. Six compounds were isolated from the active chloroform and ethyl acetate/n-butanol fractions. The purified isolates included three phenolics, and were identified as phytol, α- methylcinnamaldehyde, β-sitosterol-3-acetate, naringenin, catechin-3-O-α-rhamnopyranoside and 5, 6, 4' trihydroxy flavonol-7-O-α-rhamnopyranoside, all being for the first time reported from the flowers. The observed bioactivities were correlated to the isolated constituents. KEYWORDS: Spathodea campanulata, Flowers, Antitumor, Anthelmintic, Anti- hyperglycemic. INTRODUCTION Traditional medicine practices have been adopted in different cultures and regions without the parallel advance of international standards and methods for evaluation. Herbal treatments, World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research SJIF Impact Factor 5.045 Volume 3, Issue 4, 213-230. Research Article ISSN 2277 – 7105 Article Received on 15 April 2014, Revised on 10 May 2014, Accepted on 03 June 2014 *Author for Correspondence Dr. Naglaa Gamil Shehab Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini street,11562, Cairo, Egypt.