Phytochemical screening, elemental analysis and physicochemical properties of the oil from <i>Bauhinia variegata</i> seeds

Plants have served as the foundation of traditional medicine since the earliest civilisations. In light of this, it is crucial to study the phytochemical and physicochemical properties of <i>Bauhinia variegata</i> seed oil to discover novel secondary metabolites. Seed extracts were obtained through successive Soxhlet extraction using methanol and petroleum ether. The particle size of 0.25 mm achieved the highest bio-oil yield at 24.8%. The bio-oil was characterised using various techniques, including FTIR, GC-MS, and ¹H & ¹³C NMR. Elemental analysis revealed the presence of Pd (0.03 ± 0.01 ppm), Cd (0.003 ± 0.007 ppm), Cr (0.02 ± 0.05 ppm), Zn (0.02 ± 0.008 ppm), Mg (0.04 ± 0.01 ppm) and Na (0.45 ± 0.05 ppm). The bio-oil was further analysed for basic properties, and phytochemical compounds, revealing the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, carbohydrates, phenolics, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and terpenoids. The study highlights the biomedical, biodiesel and industrial applications of bio-oil.