Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry determination of chemical compounds and antioxidant potential of Clitoria ternatea L. flower varieties.

Clitoria ternatea has a long history of traditional use in treating cardiovascular, neurological, and cancer-related ailments. To support its historical claims, this study aimed to compare the two varieties of C. ternatea whole flower, i.e., blue and white, to assess their chemical constituents for potential impact on medicinal properties. The major compounds detected in blue and white C. ternatea whole flower were trilinolein and ternatin A1, whereas in white flower: carda-4,20(22)-dienolide and trans-traumatic acid were detected by GC-MS. In blue variety, the calcium level was found to be 5.326 mg/Kg in ICP-OES. The levels of sodium and potassium were 4.78 and 12.62 weight % in EDAX, 9.57 and 16.05 mg/Kg in flame photometry of blue flower, respectively. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of functional groups such as primary amines, carboxylic acid and alkanes in the blue color variety, whereas the white color variety contains only the alkane group. The XRD showed the presence of a brominated compound which could be responsible for forming the most stable complex with another organic compound. At 50 µg/mL, the methanol extract of the blue color variety exhibited higher antioxidant potential in all of the tests as compared to the white variety.