Assessment of phytochemical screening and antioxidant potential of Heteropogon contortus (L.) whole plant

Abstract

Heteropogon contortus (L.) belongs to the family Poaceae, which is known to have bioactivities like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, membrane and mast cell stabilization, antimicrobial and many more. The aim of the present study is to explore occurrence of phytochemicals and antioxidant activity by using the whole plant (including leaf, stem, and root) crude extract in three different solvents (methanol, hydroethanol, and aqueous). Using standard methods, presence of various bioactive compounds was determined. Quantitative evaluation of total phenol, flavonoid and tannin content were done by using the spectrophotometric techniques. For antioxidant property analysis, in-vitro techniques like ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay, diphenyl1-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and metal chelation assay were used. In plant extract preparation, the green colour extract of methanol with solid consistency observed to have highest % yield of 4.46 %, followed by hydroethanolic (3.86 %), and aqueous extract (2.95 %). Various phytocompounds (e.g., alkaloids, steroids, phenols, flavonoids, glycosides, carbohydrates, and resins) were observed in higher concentration in methanol, hydroethanol, and aqueous extract. Out of all extracts, the methanol extract observed to have highest flavonoid (30.07 ± 0.09 mg Quercetin equivalent (QE)/g), phenol (34.12 ± 0.028 mg of the Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g), and tannin (26.61 ± 0.008 mg of the Tannic acid equivalent (TAE)/g) content. In DPPH and metal chelation assay, the effective inhibitor was the methanol extract (42.94 ± 0.0061 µg/ml, 100.57 ± 0.085 µg/ml) in order of potency inhibitory concentration (IC50) while the FRAP value was observed maximum in the hydroethanol extract (258.41 ± 0.0085 mg/g). Thus, overall investigation of the plant extracts shows that the occurrence of variety of phytochemicals having antioxidant properties makes the plant a promising candidate for usage in the traditional medicine.

Microscopic characterization, TLC fingerprinting and optimization of total lipid content from Euphorbia neriifolia (L.) using response surface methodology

“…Shade‐dried samples of leaf, stem, latex, and bark parts of EN were powdered and boiled with chloral hydrate solution to remove chlorophyll. The microscopical examination in the presence of different standard solutions (0.1% phloroglucinol and then with a drop of hydrochloric acid) was done as reported by Raman et al (2018) and Yadav et al (2023). The staining solutions were mixed well and allowed to stand for 4–5 min.…”

“…Different constituents that are present inside the herbal samples to support their potency and identification are termed as marker compounds. As traditionally utilized plants have several unknown bioactive marker compounds, identification of accurate marker compounds for all medicinal plants is considerably a strenuous task (Yadav, Chaudhary, et al, 2022; Yadav, Sonigra, & Meena, 2022). Even the quantity of bioactive compounds is not the same for various samples; thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis can authenticate and identify the herbal materials correctly (Barupal et al, 2019).…”

“…Even the quantity of bioactive compounds is not the same for various samples; thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis can authenticate and identify the herbal materials correctly (Barupal et al, 2019). This identification and separation of secondary metabolites produced by plants through chromatography are crucial steps in the way to utilize these phytocompounds as active molecules for drug discovery or any medicinal preparation (Chothani et al, 2012;Liang et al, 2004;Yadav, Chaudhary, et al, 2022;Yadav, Sonigra, & Meena, 2022;Zahiruddin et al, 2021). TLC makes a significant contribution in this regard because it makes it easier to identify chemotaxonomic markers and the full chemotaxonomic profiles during the thin-layer chromatographic screening of plant extracts, which makes it easier to identify botanical taxa (Kowalska & Sajewicz, 2022).…”