Source dependent variation in phenolics, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Paeonia emodi in west Himalaya, India

Molecular Identification and Phytochemical Analysis and Bioactivity Assessment of Catharanthus roseus Leaf Extract: Exploring Antioxidant Potential and Antimicrobial Activities

Plants have long been at the main focus of the medical industry's attention due to their extensive list of biological and therapeutic properties and ethnobotanical applications. Catharanthus roseus, sometimes referred to as Nithyakalyani in Tamil, is an Apocynaceae family member used in traditional Indian medicine. It also examines the plant's potential antimicrobial and antioxidant activities as well as its preliminary phytochemical makeup. Leaf material from C. roseus was analyzed and found to include a variety of phytochemicals including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, saponins, glycosides, quinones, and steroids. Four of the seven secondary metabolic products discovered in C. roseus leaves showed bioactive principles: 3-methylmannoside, squalene, pentatriacontane, and 2,4,4-trimethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-5a-(3-methyl-but-2-enyl)-cyclohexene. Catharanthus roseus is rich in the anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. Whole DNA was isolated from fresh leaves, then amplified, sequenced, and aligned to find prospective DNA barcode candidates. One DNA marker revealed the restricted genetic relationship among C. roseus based on genetic distance and phylogenetic analysis. The antioxidant activity of the plant extract was evaluated using the DPPH, ABTS, phosphomolybdenum, FRAP, and superoxide radical scavenging activity assays, while the antibacterial potential was evaluated using the agar well diffusion assay. The ethanol extract of C. roseus was found to have the highest reducing power. In addition, a 4- to 21-mm-wide zone of inhibition was seen when the C. roseus extract was tested against bacterial and fungal stains. In conclusion, C. roseus has the most promise as an antibacterial and antioxidant agent.

Altitudinal Variation on Metabolites, Elements, and Antioxidant Activities of Medicinal Plant Asarum

Asarum (Asarum sieboldii Miq. f. seoulense (Nakai) C. Y. Cheng et C. S. Yang) is a medicinal plant that contains asarinin and sesamin, which possess extensive medicinal value. The adaptation and distribution of Asarum's plant growth are significantly affected by altitude. Although most studies on Asarum have concentrated on its pharmacological activities, little is known about its growth and metabolites with respect to altitude. In this study, the physiology, ionomics, and metabolomics were investigated and conducted on the leaves and roots of Asarum along an altitude gradient, and the content of its medicinal components was determined. The results showed that soil pH and temperature both decreased along the altitude, which restricts the growth of Asarum. The accumulation of TOC, Cu, Mg, and other mineral elements enhanced the photosynthetic capacity and leaf plasticity of Asarum in high-altitude areas. A metabolomics analysis revealed that, at high altitude, nitrogen metabolism in leaves was enhanced, while carbon metabolism in roots was enhanced. Furthermore, the metabolic pathways of some phenolic substances, including syringic acid, vanillic acid, and ferulic acid, were altered to enhance the metabolism of organic acids. The study uncovered the growth and metabolic responses of Asarum to varying altitudes, providing a theoretical foundation for the utilization and cultivation of Asarum.

A comprehensive review on traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle: current landscape and future perspectives

Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle is commonly known as Himalayan paeony has great importance as a food and medicine. The practice of Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle is very ancient and it is conventionally used for a wide range of illnesses in the folk system of medicine because of its wide beneficial phytochemical profile. The main purpose of the current review was the synthesis of recent data on botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and potential pharmacological mechanisms of action of Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle, thus offering new prospects for the development of new adjuvant natural therapies. Using scientific databases such as PubMed/MedLine, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Springer, and Wiley, a comprehensive literature search was performed for Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle. For searching, we used the next MeSH terms: "Biological Product/isolation and purification", "Biological Products/pharmacology", "Drug Discovery/methods", "Ethnopharmacology, Medicine", "Traditional/methods", "Paeonia/chemistry", "Plant Extracts/pharmacology", "Phytochemicals/chemistry", "Phytochemicals/pharmacology", "Plants, Medicinal". The results of the most recent studies were analyzed and the most important data were summarized in tables and figures. Phytochemical research of Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle has led to the isolation of triterpenes, monoterpenes, phenolic acids, fatty acids, organic compounds, steroids, free radicals and some other classes of primary metabolites. In addition, diverse pharmacological activities like antibacterial, antifungal, anticoagulant, airway relaxant lipoxygenase and beta-glucuronidase inhibiting activity, radical scavenging activity, phytotoxic and insecticidal activities have been reported for Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle. Different bioactive compounds of Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle has proven their therapeutic potential in modern pharmacological and biomedical research to cure numerous gastrointestinal and nervous disorders. In future, further in vitro and in vivo therapeutic studies are required to identify new mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics studies, and new pharmaceutical formulations for target transport and possible interaction with allopathic drugs. Also, new research regarding quality evaluation, toxicity and safety data in humans is needed.