| Abstract: | Abstract To test the hypothesis that higher antioxidant potential of hemiparasitic plants is due to sequestration of phenolic compounds from the host plants, samples of Dendrophthoe falcata, a hemiparasite collected from different hosts, were investigated for total phenolics, total flavonoids and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. The hosts significantly influenced the phenolic content of the hemiparasite. However, similar influence was not detected on radical scavenging activity and no correlation was found in the phenolics and free radical scavenging activities. Further investigation on transfer of constituents revealed that D. falcata sample obtained from a host, Mangifera indica, contained mangiferin, a C-glucosyl xanthone, and some unidentified flavonoids as confirmed by HPTLC flavonoid patterns. The data indicated that the hosts significantly affected total phenolics and total flavonoids in a hemiparasite. This is the first report of transfer of mangiferin from M. indica to a hemiparasite. The present report points towards the need of further investigations on the possible role of transferred phenolics either as mediators of host defense, host defense compounds utilized as cues of identification of the host by the hemiparasite or compounds taken up by the parasites to support their defense against rejection by the hosts. |
