The extraction of derris elliptica leaves / Muhammad Farhan Mohd Sith

Derris elliptica (D. elliptica) is a liana that can grow up to 16 meters long climbing other plants. The leaves are pinnate, 15 - 30 cm long and mostly having 7 - 15 leaflets. The flower is inflorescence with rusty pubescence calyx and pinkish corolla. The fruit is oblong with narrow wing on both sides. The plants from Derris genus have been used as insecticides and piscicides (fish poison) for long time. D. elliptica is proven to have insecticidal, larvicidal, antimicrobial and piscicide activities. These biological activities are mostly due to the active ingredient of the plant called rotenone (1), a chemical that is widely used today as commercial insecticides products. However, there are also other chemical constituents in the plant besides rotenone (1) that have significant toxicity which could be useful in phytochemistry. The exact chemical constituents of D. elliptica leaves are still unknown, thus this research will include the phytochemical screening of D. elliptica leaves to identify the possible compounds which could be alkaloids, flavonoids, rotenoids, sterols, tannins and triterpenoids. The four compounds that were managed to be isolated and partially characterised are proposed to be triterpenoids.