This research was conducted on a plant called Peperomia inaequalifolia, commonly known as congona or canelon; it is a plant of the Piperaceae family endemic to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Some biological activities have been reported as analgesic, antiparasitic, sedative, ant arthrosis, cardiac, hepatoprotective, and to treat sterility in traditional Ecuadorian medicine. The objective is to determine the components present in the sample and their relative purity using the appropriate solvents by means of chemical analysis and, at the same time, perform a phytochemical analysis of P. inaequalifolia to identify secondary metabolites, present in the extracts of this natural product. Thus, during the methodology, it was possible to obtain a methanolic extract by dynamic maceration followed by column fractionation using solvents of increasing polarity (hexane, ethyl acetate, DCM, and MeOH). The obtained fraction was analyzed by TLC (thin-layer chromatography) and HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography). The pure fractions were analyzed by spectroscopic methods to identify the organic substances present in this medicinal plant.

Keywords: Peperomia inaequalifolia, Congona, phytochemical screening, TLC, HPLC.