PHYTOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT AND METABOLIC FINGERPRINTING OF BOERHAVIA DIFFUSA AND CEPHALANDRA INDICA FROM INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT

The medicinal plants, Boerhavia diffusa and Cephalandra indica are both perennial climbing herbs commonly used in traditional system of medicine for the treatment of several ailments because of their healing properties. The present study aimed to identify the phytochemical constituents of methanolic extracts of these plants, followed by their metabolic fingerprinting, which was carried out by HPTLC and GC-MS analysis. Total phenol and flavonoid content were measured, followed by a radical scavenging assessment using 1,1, Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical system. This preliminary data showed encouraging results for the presence of a significant amount of flavonoid, phenols, and anti-oxidant activities. The HPTLC chromatogram of both methanolic extracts showed a variety of metabolites having different R_f value suggesting the diverse nature of phytoconstituents. Further, the GC-MS analysis revealed the manifestation of at least 23 and 22 metabolites of B. diffusa and C. indica, respectively. These metabolites were identified as fatty acids, sugar alcohols, large carbohydrates, phenols, and flavonoids possessing potential antioxidant, antitumor, anti-hyperglycemic, and antimicrobial properties. The results of the present study confirm the utilization of these plants in conventional therapeutic setups, and it also shows the possibility of designing novel semi-synthetic compounds based on these identified bioactive components.