ABSTRACT
Graded concentrations (0.1-100 mg/mL reaction mixture) of the methanolic extract of the flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn., its water-soluble fraction as well as compounds isolated from this fraction were tested for their inhibitory effect on alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity in vitro. Both the methanolic extract and its water-soluble fraction showed significant inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity in vitro. On screening the activity of the compounds isolated from the water-soluble fraction, its high inhibitory activity was attributed to the presence of quercetin-7-O-galactoside which showed a high potent inhibition of the enzyme activity reaching 100% at 100 mg/mL reaction mixture. Phytochemical investigations of the water-soluble fraction were also carried out and afforded ten polyphenolic compounds including two new natural compounds, namely kaempferol-7-O-[6'''-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-beta-D-glucosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside] and scutellarein-6-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside-8-C-beta-D-glucopyranoside). The chemical structure of the isolated compounds was elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral data.
