Assessment of Phytochemical Profiling and Therapeutic Potential of the Ethanolic Extract of Vitex negundo (L.).

PAKISTAN; INDIA

Vitex negundo (L.) is a medicinal small tree of the Verbenaceae family that grows in Pakistan and India. The current study aims to identify the existence of several natural compounds (flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, glycosides, and saponins) in the bark of V. negundo (L.) roots and stem, as well as their potential antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The crude was obtained in 95 % methanolic which was further fractionated into n-hexane (HR, HS), Chloroform (CR, CS), ethyl acetate (EtR, EtS) and butanol (BR, BS) soluble fractions by solvent-solvent extraction. In phytochemical tests of roots fractions; HR showed the presence of terpenoids, while saponins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected in CR. EtR was enriched in terpenoids and phenols and the butanol fraction (BR) contained terpenoids and flavonoids. Similarly in stem fractions; HS contained alkaloids and phenols while terpenoids and Phenols were present CS. EtS showed the presence of flavonoids, while butanol fraction (BS) contained terpenoids and flavonoids. In Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) examination showed, that there were several individual spots identified the existence of detected phytochemicals. Almost all the fractions showed very strong DPPH free radical inhibitory effects. Strong antioxidant activity was found for BR (IC50= 62.5 µg/mL) and BS (IC50= 80 µg/mL) probably due to the presence of flavonoids in butanol fractions, evident from the Fourier Transform (FT-IR) spectral analysis which gave distinct absorption of flavonoids functionalities. In antimicrobial studies, CR exhibited strongest antibacterial activity against E. coli, S. flexneri and S. aureus with inhibition zone of 25±0.75, 21±0.35 and 18±0.21 mm respectively. The same fraction showed very potent antifungal effect against A. niger and A. flavus with inhibition zones of 19±0.45 and 18±0.39 mm respectively. In case of stem extracts, CS exhibited strongest antibacterial activity against E. coli, S. aurous and S. flexneri with inhibition zone of 24±0.23, 22±0.67 and 20±0.32 mm respectively while the same fraction showed maximum inhibition of linear growth (22±0.76 and 19±0.66 mm) of Candida albicans and A. niger, respectively. We conclude that V. negundo (L.) has potential antimicrobial and antifungal capacities which make it a potential candidate for the development of antibiotic drugs through pharmacological formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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