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8314168 
Journal Article 
Fatty acid profile and biological activities of the aerial parts of Desmodium elegans Dc 
Khan, A; Usman, R 
2012 
12 
1 
92-95 
English 
The present study was aimed at investigating the chemical composition and biological activities of the n-hexane fraction obtained from the aerial parts of Desmodium elegans. As a routine exercise for such studies, the fatty acids were transformed in situ to the corresponding methyl esters and subjected to gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. A total of 19 fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) have been identified. The predominant components are palmitic acid (59.01%), stearic acid (12.33%), behenic acid (7.48%), arachidic acid (4.20%), tetracosanoic acid (3.84%), tricosanoic acid (2.37 %) and margaric acid (2.36) %). The same n-hexane fraction was also tested for Brine shrimp cytotoxicity, antibacterial and insecticidal activity. The experimental data revealed that the fatty acids are non-toxic, moderately antibacterial against Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtils, while moderately insecticidal against Callosbruchus analis. © IDOSI Publications, 2012. 
Antibacterial and insecticidal activities; Brine shrimp; Desmodium elegans DC; Fatty acid composition