GC-MS Profiling of Reproductive Stage Withania somnifera for Antimicrobial and Anticancer Phytochemicals

Abstract

Withanias omnifera also known as Indian ginseng is commonly found in India and other Southeast Asian countries. Various parts of this plant have been used as herbal medicine to treat a variety of diseases. However, there is a lacuna in the profiling of phytochemical constituents present in the different parts of the plant at reproductive stage. To identify phytochemicals present in the methanolic extracts of leaf, root, and stem parts of W. somnifera at reproductive stage using GC-MS analysis. Methods: The airdried parts of plant (leaf, stem and root) were extracted with methanol and concentrated under reduced pressure at 40°C using a rotary evaporator. The GCMSQP2010, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan with headspace sampler (AOC-20s) and autoinjector (AOC-20i), was used for sample analysis. The phytochemicals were identified with the database provided by National Institute Standard and Technology (NIST11LIB). The GC-MS analysis of leaf, root, and stem methanolic extracts of W. somnifera, revealed a total of eighty-two unique phytochemical peaks in the reproductive stage of the plant. Phytochemicals with antimicrobial and anticancer properties were identified in all the parts. In leaf, 2-pentanone, 5-chloro- was found to be most abundant and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-propoxy-. beta.-methyl-.beta.-nitrostyrene least abundant with antimicrobial nature, whereas, benzene, 1,1'-(1,2-ethenediyl)bis[2-methyl- was found to be most abundant and dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene, 5,6,11,12-tetrahydro- least with anticancer property. In roots, the most abundant was benzoic acid, 3-methyl-2-trimethylsilyloxy-, trimethylsilyl ester and tris(trimethylsilyl)hydroxylamine the least abundant were identified to be antimicrobial, whereas high abundance uleine and low abundance 2-{4-[2-(4-methoxymethylphenyl)vinyl]phenyl}propan-2-olwere identified to be anticancer. In stem, acetohydroxamic acid was found to be most abundant and trans2,3,6-trimethoxy-b-methyl-b-nitrostyrene least abundant for antimicrobial nature, whereas 3-acetoxy-2,3'-bibenzo[b]thiophene was found to be anticancer phytochemical. In this study, phytochemicals with antimicrobial and anticancer properties were identified in leaf, root and stem parts of W. somnifera at reproductive stage.

In Vitro Cytotoxicity of Reproductive Stage Withania somnifera Leaf and Stem on HepG2 Cell Line

“…This finding indicates that the leaf methanolic extracts of W. somnifera exhibit anticancer properties compared to the stem and root methanolic extracts of the HepG2 cell line. This may be ascribed to certain bioactive compounds such as the phenolic compounds 1,2-bis (trimethylsilyl) benzene, the ester compound boric acid, trimethyl ester, and steroid amines such as dextroamphetamine [ 41 ] in the methanolic extract of W. somnifera leaf, which have been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the previous finding.…”