Phytochemical analysis and bioactivity assessment of five medicinal plants from Pakistan: Exploring polyphenol contents, antioxidant potential, and antibacterial activities

Huma Rao; Iqra Rao; Laiba Saeed; Hanan Y Aati; Sultan Aati; Muhammad Zeeshan; Kashif Ur Rehman Khan

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2023.103783

Phytochemical analysis and bioactivity assessment of five medicinal plants from Pakistan: Exploring polyphenol contents, antioxidant potential, and antibacterial activities

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2023 Oct;30(10):103783. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2023.103783. Epub 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Huma Rao¹, Iqra Rao², Laiba Saeed³, Hanan Y Aati⁴, Sultan Aati⁵, Muhammad Zeeshan¹, Kashif Ur Rehman Khan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
² King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
³ Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ UWA, University of Western Australia, Nedland, WA 6009, Australia.

Abstract

Plants have always been the prime focus in medicine industries due to their enormous ethnobotanical uses and multitude of biological and therapeutic properties. In the current study, preliminary phytochemical composition, Total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC) with the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of hydroalcoholic extract and n-hexane, chloroform and n-butanol fractions of five selected medicinal plants [Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers., Lavandula stoechas L., Aesculus indica (Wall. ex Cambess.) Hook, Iris ensata Thunb., and Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers.] from Pakistan, have been evaluated. TPC and TFC were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu's and AlCl₃ methods respectively. The antioxidant activity was performed by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC while the antibacterial potential of these plants was determined by agar well diffusion assay. K. pinnata (Lam.) Pers. exhibited the highest TPC (695 ± 13.2 mg.GA.Eq.g^-1DE ± SD) in n-butanol fraction and the highest TFC in its chloroform faction (615 ± 6.31 mg Q.Eq.g^-1 DE ± SD). The n-butanol fraction and hydroalcoholic extract of I. ensata Thunb. exhibited strong antioxidant potential by DPPH and CUPRAC assays respectively, whereas K. pinnata (Lam.) Pers. n-butanol fraction exhibited the strongest reducing potential. The hydroalcoholic extract of all tested plants exhibited significant antibacterial activity against tested bacterial strains with ZI (12-18 mm). Conclusively, K. pinnata (Lam.) Pers. (Family: Crassulaceae) and I. ensataThunb. (Family: Iridaceae) exhibited the highest antioxidant and antibacterial potential. They can be explored for the isolation of phytoconstituents responsible for this potential and serve as a lead for the production of new natural antioxidants and antibacterial agents that can be used to cure various diseases.

Keywords: CUPRAC; FRAP; Free radicals; Medicinal plants; Total Flavonoid Content; Total Phenol contents.