Trends in Phytochemical Research
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Winter 2021

Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht has been commonly used in many indigenous clinical complications to healing various ailments. A list of phytochemicals has been extracted and identified with multiple pharmacological and therapeutic properties from the different parts of C. speciosus (J.Koenig): sterioidal and furostanol saponins, sterioidal and furostanol glycosides, triterpene, phytoserol, sesquiterpenes, benziquinone, and fatty acid esters. Compared with other parts of the C. speciosus (J.Koenig), rhizomes are most extensively studied for their anthelmintic, aphrodisiac, astringent, depurative, expectorant, febrifuge, purgative, and toxin neutralizing properties. Generally, this plant has been reported to have a range of pharmacological activities, including antibacterial, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and anti-diuretic, anti-larvicidal, anti-stress, and estrogenic. These findings are highly promising and indicate that the plant needs to be carefully investigated for its diverse therapeutic benefit and associated toxicities and tolerance level. The present review will discuss geographical mapping, morphology, traditional, phytochemistry, and pharmacological prospects of C. speciosus (J.Koenig).

This study examined the composition of the essential oils long with corresponding antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the leaves and stems of Leptoderris brachyptera and Leptoderris micrantha. Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation method using Clevenger-type apparatus, while identification and characterization were done by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) technique. The antimicrobial property was evaluated by the agar diffusion method and antioxidant activity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical method. Essential oils yields range from 0.4%-0.8%. GC-MS analyses revealed twenty-six and five compounds in leaves and stem of Leptoderris brachyptera representing 96.4% and 92.6% of which phytol (11.2%) and 4-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzeneamine (60.8%) as the most abundant components, respectively. Nineteen and thirteen volatile constituents were identified from leaves and stems of Leptoderris micrantha representing 94.3% and 94.1% with phytol (30.7%) and palmitic acid (36.4%), respectively. However, the essential oils exhibited moderate antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

Pluchea lanceolata, commonly known as Rasana, is highly valued for its anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, and analgesic properties and is extensively employed in treating rheumatoid arthritis, cough, neurological diseases, edema, sciatica, psoriasis, bronchitis, dyspepsia, and piles. Shrinking populations and insufficient variation due to rootstock propagation methods warrant efficient mass multiplication and conservation protocols. In the present study, explant (axillaries bud was cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of cytokinins and auxin (PGRs) individually, as well as in combination. The highest mean shoot number (2.06 ± 1.43) and second highest mean shoot length (2.62 ± 1.49 cm) were obtained in MS media enriched with 4 mg/L Benzyl amino purine (BAP) + 1mg/L Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Whereas, the best shoots multiplication (2.62 ± 1.41) and shoots elongation (5.88 ± 2.44) responses were displayed when MS medium supplemented with 0.25 mg/L (BAP) +0.50 mg/L Kinetin (KIN) were used.

A new phenylpropanoid glycoside named psorospermoside (1) possessing an allose unit was isolated from the Psorospermum tenuifolium Hook f. bark extract together with eleven known compounds. Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic and spectrometric methods including 1D, 2D-NMR, and ESI-MS, as well as by comparison of their data with those reported in the literature. All the isolated compounds were assessed for their cytotoxicity effect on the human cervix carcinoma cell line KB3-1. Emodin (2) and its congener 2-geranylemodin (3) displayed significant cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 11.4 µM and 19.0µM, respectively. Furthermore, the chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was also discussed.

One fatty acid (1), one monoglycol ester (2), three diterpenes (3-5), four steroids (6-9), four triterpenes (10-13), three flavonoids (14-16), three anthraquinones (17-19) and one benzoquinone (20), were isolated from the methanolic extract of the leaves and trunk of Senna alata. These compounds were obtained by extensive silica gel chromatography and their structures elucidated by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as well as comparison with literature data. Compounds (2-4) have been reported for the first time from this species. Some isolated compounds and methanolic crude extract of leaves and trunk were screened in vitro for their antimicrobial activities. Kaempferol (16) exhibited strong activity against all the tested strains, with MIC values varying from 15.5 to 31.2 µg/mL, emodin (18) was active with a strong activity (7.8 µg/mL) exhibited on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The trunk crude extract showed a strong activity with MIC values varying from 15.6 to 62.5 µg/mL.

The plant Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass. belonging to family Asteraceae was subjected to hydro distillation for essential oil extraction and was chemically analyzed by GC/MS for its phytochemical composition. Thirty-five compounds were identified comprising 88.1% of total essential oil composition. Limonene (12.2%) along with sesquisabinene isomer (7.3%) and caryophyllene oxide (5.9%) were the prominent compounds of the essential oil. In-vitro antioxidant activity of essential oil was investigated by DPPH free radical scavenging activity and metal chelating activity having IC50 value of 326.77 ± 5.34 μL and 14.853 ± 0.106 μL respectively whereas reducing power activity having RP50 value of 14.011 ± 0.0446 μL. The essential oil exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity with IB50 value of 5.629 ± 0.0311 μL compared to standard Diclofenac sodium salt having IB50 value of 23.693 ± 0.306 μg/mL. The essential oil displayed exceedingly marked anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant activities as compared to standard marketed drugs.