Comparative Phytochemical Analysis of White and Pink Flower of Nelumbo Nucifera

Plants are used as a major source in medicine since ancient times, as they are reservoir of biochemical compounds. Lotus is traditionally used as antibacterial, diuretic, uterotonic, antidiabetic, hematemesis, anti-inflammatory etc. The plant is rhizomatous aquatic herb widely distributed in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family Nymphaeaceae consists of 8 genera, 100 species distributed all over the world of which 4 genera and 7 species occurring throughout India. In the present study, the two varieties of lotus (pink and white flowers) were compared. The preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, amino acids, protein, diterpenes, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, oxalate, cardiac glycosides, anthocyanin, carboxylic acid, xanthoprotein, coumarin, quinines, glycosides and leucoanthocyanin. Comparatively, the pink variety showed the presence of more phytoconstituents than the white variety.