Abstract
BackgroundGymnema sylvestre is a highly valued ethno pharmacologically important medicinal plant used currently in many poly-herbal formulations due to its potential antidiabetic activity and other health benefits. The present study was carried out to analyze the anti-stress, anti-allergic, and antiulcer activity of the bioactive compounds present in Gymnema sylvestre leaves.MethodsThe preliminary phytochemical screening for bioactive compounds from aqueous extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, triterpenes, flavonoids, steroids, and saponins. The antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging method. The characterization of the extract was carried out using standard compound by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and phytochemical analysis in terms of total phenol, total flavonoids, reducing power and antioxidant potentials, etc. The in vivo studies on albino mice proved the purified fraction has anti-stress/anti-allergic activity against milk induced leucocytosis/eosinophilia and able to inhibit the aspirin induced gastric ulcers.ResultsThe quantitative estimation for aqueous extract exhibited total antioxidant (9.13 ± 0.04 μg/g), flavonoids (125.62 ± 26.84 μg/g), tannin (111.53 ± 15.13 μg/g), total phenol content (285.23 ± 1.11 μg/g) and free radical scavenging (52.14 ± 0.32%). Further the aqueous extract was consecutively purified by TLC and silica column chromatography. The purified fractions were characterized by HPTLC and GC-MS and the component was identified as gymnemic acid. The potency of the antimicrobial activity of the extract was studied with bacteria. Pharmacological experiments clearly demonstrated that the extracts of all plants given orally showed significant gastric protection against the asprin-induced gastric ulcer model in mice. Furthermore, healing effects were also confirmed through histopathological examination.ConclusionsThe aqueous extracts of the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre possess anti ulcerogenic, Anti allergic, Anti stress, properties that may be due to cytoprotective mechanism. These results support the ethno medical uses of the plant in the treatment of gastric ulcer.
Highlights
Gymnema sylvestre is a highly valued ethno pharmacologically important medicinal plant used currently in many poly-herbal formulations due to its potential antidiabetic activity and other health benefits
In one of the Ethno botanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used by Kanitribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India, has revealed that Gymneme sylvestre as the most important species according to their use [2]
Phytochemical screening The results of the preliminary phytochemical screening of Aqueous extracts of G. sylvestre revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, sterols, tannins and triterpenes (Table 1)
Summary
Gymnema sylvestre is a highly valued ethno pharmacologically important medicinal plant used currently in many poly-herbal formulations due to its potential antidiabetic activity and other health benefits. The use of plant parts and isolated phytochemicals for the prevention and treatment of various health ailments has been in practice from time immemorial [3]. One of such plant is Gymnema sylvestre R. Br [4] is a woody, climbing plant that grows in the tropical forests of central and southern India and in parts of Asia [5]. It is a pubescent shrub with young stems and branches, and has a distichous phyllotactic opposite arrangement pattern, which are 2.5-6 cm long and are usually ovate or elliptical, the flowers are small, yellow, in umbellate cymes and follicles are terete, lanceolate, up to 3 inches in length [6]
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