The knowledge of scientific validation of the efficacy of medicinal plants in the light of modern research parameters is of great importance in understanding the plants role as medicine. To understand the presence of different phytocompounds present in a medicinal plant a number of techniques are available. The present study is one step in this direction which deals with the preliminary phytochemical and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy analysis of different leaf extracts of one medicinal Carissa spinarum. This plant has wide medicinal and edible properties. It was observed that flavonids, tannins, saponins and steroids were present in Methanolic extract. Flavonids, alkaloids, saponins and steroids were present in hexene fraction where as alkaloids, saponins, proteins and triterpenoids were present in aqueous extract. The GC MS analysis of hexane and aqueous leaf extracts indicated the presence of some important biomolecules such as Hexadecanal, 2-(1-Cyclohexenyl) cyclohexanone, Phytol, Squalene, Vitamin E, Octasiloxane, 1, 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 11, 11, 13, 13, 15, 15-hexadecamethylz, 1-Monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether, .beta.-Sitosterol, .alpha.-Amyrin, Lupeol, 1-Monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether and Lup-20(29)-en-3-ol, acetate, (3.beta.)-, Catechol, N-Benzyl-2-phenethylamine, Resorcinol, 2-Methyl-9-.beta.-d-ribofuranosylhypoxanthine, Paromomycin and 3-O-Methyl-d-glucose etc. correspond well with the reported medicinal roles of C. spinarum. Further work is in progress towards understanding this plants role as a medicine.
