Assessment of Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Potential of Ethanolic Extract of Woodfordia fruticosa Flowers: GC-MS Analysis

Currently, the potential utilization of natural plant-derived extracts for medicinal and therapeutic purposes has increased remarkably. The current study, therefore, aimed to assess the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of modified solvent evaporation-assisted ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers. For viable use of the extract, qualitative analysis of phytochemicals and their identification was carried out by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. Analysis revealed that phenolic (65.62 ± 0.05 mg/g), flavonoid (62.82 ± 0.07 mg/g), and ascorbic acid (52.46 ± 0.1 mg/g) components were present in high amounts, while β-carotene (62.92 ± 0.02 µg/mg) and lycopene (60.42 ± 0.8 µg/mg) were present in lower amounts. The antimicrobial proficiency of modified solvent-assisted extract was evaluated against four pathogenic bacterial and one fungal strain, namely Staphylococcusaureus (MTCC 3160), Klebsiellapneumoniae (MTCC 3384), Pseudomonasaeruginosa (MTCC 2295), and Salmonellatyphimurium (MTCC 1254), and Candidaalbicans (MTCC 183), respectively. The zone of inhibition was comparable to antibiotics streptomycin and amphotericin were used as a positive control for pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The extract showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) anti-inflammatory activity during the albumin denaturation assay (43.56–86.59%) and HRBC membrane stabilization assay (43.62–87.69%). The extract showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging assay and the obtained results are comparable with BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) with percentage inhibitions of 82.46%, 83.34%, and 84.23%, respectively. Therefore, the obtained results concluded that ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers could be utilized as a magnificent source of phenols used for the manufacturing of value-added food products.

HPTLC Method for Estimation of Ellagic Acid and Gallic Acid from Flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz.

Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz, belonging to family Lythraceae, commonly known as dhataki pushpa, is a plant of tropical and subtropical region with a long history of medicinal use. Wide range of chemical compounds including tannins, flavonoides, anthraquinones glycosides and polyphenols have been isolated from the plant. The extract from the flowers are used in folklore medicine for treatments of like wound healing, bowel complaint, rheumatism, hematuria. Litreture survey indicates that the flowers are rich in tannins, both gallo and ellagitannins. Hence, it was thought worthwhile to use Ellagic acid and Gallic acid as the marker compounds for the standardization of the flowers. With this background the present study was undertaken to standardize the flowers using Ellagic acid and Gallic acid as marker compounds. The HPTLC method used for the standardization was validated for the parameters like specificity, limits of detection and quantification, linearity, precision, accuracy and recovery. The total content of Ellagic acid and Gallic acid in the Methanolic extract was found to be 4.21%, 6.70% and the total content of Ellagic acid and Gallic acid in the Total aqueous extract was found to be 2.62%, 4.75%.

A Review on Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz (Dhatki): Ayurvedic, Folk and Modern Uses

Woodfordia fruticosa kurz is an herbal plant that belongs to the family Lythraceae. This plant is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of India, Sri Lanka, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan. The plant possesses a long history of medicinal use. The flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa are recorded to possess potent therapeutic values. The various phytochemicals isolated from this plant are tannins, flavonoids, anthraquinone, glycosides and polyphenols. The extract of flowers and leaves are associated with useful therapeutic activities. These phytochemical compounds have many pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidant, antiulcer, immunomodulatory, antifertility and anti-tumor. These pharmacological activities of Woodfordia fruticosa plant are also mentioned in the literature of ayurveda, yunani and other traditional systems of medicine. This review is intended to provide brief information on the plant Woodfordia fruticosa on the basis of chemical constituents, folk usage, ayurvedic usage, modern usage and its biological activities. Keywords: Woodfordia fruticosa, antimicrobial, Ayurvedic, flavonoids, Octacosanol

Antibacterial Activity of Medicinal Flowers against Multi Drug Resistant E. coli

The antibiotic resistance is creating a serious challenge to treat diseases especially against multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of seven different flowers ethanolic extracts named as Achillea millefolium, Bombax ceiba, Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium, Hyssopus officinalis, Rosa damascena Miller, Taraxacum officinale Weber and Woodfordia fruticosa against MDR E. coli through spot test and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) test. The results showed all the seven extracts have significant antibacterial activity against MDR E. coli and control. The MIC of Rosa damascena Miller, Bombax ceiba was 3.125 mg/ml and Taraxacum officinale Weber was 12.5 mg/ml for MDR E. coli. Similarly, Achillea millefolium, Hyssopus officinalis, Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium MIC value was 25 mg/ml and 12.5 mg/ml for Woodfordia fruticosa Kurtz. The current study reveals that these flowers possess strong antibacterial activity and thus can be used as potential antimicrobial agent against various resistant bacterial pathogens