Chemotaxonomic and morphological classification of six Indigofera species in Jazan region, KSA

Abstract

The chemical constituent pattern and morphological traits of six species of Indigofera; I. argentea, I. articulata, I. colutea, I. oblongifolia, I. hochstetteri and I. sessiliflora were surveyed and compared. The chemical characters revealed one series for all species using total estimation of secondary metabolites; alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids and phenolic compounds by using TLC and HPLC analysis. 26 main morphological studies were distinguished as macro and micro- characters. The studied species showed different active phytochemical constituents and high number of morphological characters. Similarity matrix and cluster analysis were constructed based on all traits. The results illustrated that there were some related and distant species by using the tree display graph besides I. hochstetteri is regarded as the transitional species among the studied species. The study confirmed that more studies should be carried out to investigate about unknown phenolic compounds.