Objective: Nowadays a lot of herbal formulations are widely being used in Ayurveda. However, it is not easy to analyse their pharmacological activity unless a phytochemical investigation is conducted of that particular plant extract. Artemisia nilagirica (Clarke) Pamp, a herb belonging to family Asteraceae is reported for its mosquito larvicidal and insect repellent activities. The present study was undertaken to characterize the ethanolic extract, hexane fraction and terpenoid fraction of Artemisia nilagirica using chromatographic techniques.

Results: The prepared ethanolic extracts and its fractions were subjected to phytochemical screening which showed presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, fixed oils and fats and steroids. HPTLC was used as a tool to detect the presence of polyvalent compounds present in the ethanolic extract and its fractions. The chromatogram showed presence of polyvalent compounds in ethanolic extract and hexane fraction which depicted varied composition present in the plant The terpenoid fraction of A. nilagirica showed presence 9 polyvalent compounds at 366 nm with Rf ranging from 0.14 to 0.96 with the highest peak intensity at 0.56 Rf.

Conclusion: A detailed investigations of the terpenoid fraction should be carried out so as to study its pharmacological activity as well as for developing new drugs so that they can be used in treatment of various diseases.