Muhammad Sheeraz Ahmad, S M Saqlan Naqvi, Sajida Mushtaq, Farzana Ramzan, Abdul Sami, Salma Batool, Ihsan-ul-Haq and Bushra Mirza
Keywords: Phytochemicals, biological screening, P. amplexicaule, Rhizome extract.
Abstract: Medicinal plants have long been recognized for their applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agriculture and food industry. The medicinal plants of genus Polygonum have far been used for a variety of purposes including the treatment of infectious diseases, inflammatory conditions, gastrointestinal disorders and cancer. Polygonum amplexicaule has folk medicinal use in Pakistan for such diseases. Since, the discovery of therapeutic agents depends on the knowledge of chemical constituents of the plant hence the present study was designed to evaluate the phytochemicals present in this specie’s rhizome with respect to their importance in the field of phytomedicines. Different phytochemicals were analyzed qualitatively by using various assays. Antitumor and brine shrimp cytoxicity assay were performed along with tyrosinase inhibition assay to check the suitability of the extract for cosmetics. The qualitative analysis of phytochemicals reveals the presence of various secondary metabolites that includes alkaloids, steroids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, fixed oils and fats, phenolic compounds including flavonoids, saponins, tannins and terpenoids, gums and mucilages and anthraquinones, while phytosterols and phlabatannins have not been detected. The rhizome extract has shown significant cytotoxic and antitumor activities with 13.57?g/mL IC50 towards brine shrimp assay. The tyrosinase inhibition assay validates its suitability for cosmetics with 64.6% tyrosinase inhibition at 10?g/ml treatment. The phytochemicals evaluated in the rhizome extract of P. amplexicaule and its biological activities validates its folkloric use and prospects its future use towards isolation of therapeutic agents.
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