Abstract
Ophiorrhiza mungose var. angustifolia (Thwaites) Hook. f (Family- Rubiaceae) is a recently identified plant from Ophiorrhiza species in Western Ghats of Kerala. The plant is a promising candidate for the production of camptothecin (CPT) - a high value anticancer compound. Preliminary screening of hexane and methanol extract revealed the presence of phenolics, flavonoids, caumarins, steroids, terpeanoids, saponins, carbohydrates and alkaloids. Camptothecin was estimated from methanol extract using high performance liquid chromatography and the level of CPT was 297.94 ± 2.27 µg/g dry weight. The in vitro antioxidant assay revealed both extract showed moderate level of total phenolic content, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, ferric chloride reducing power assay, phospho-molybdate assay of total anti-oxidant capacity and nitric oxide scavenging activity assay. Antimicrobial study reveals that only hexane extract inhibits pathogenic bacteria and fungus. Overall these findings will lead to isolation of active compounds other than camptothecin, elucidate them against wider range of bioactivity studies to find new therapeutic principles.
Highlights
Ophiorrhiza belongs to the dicotyledonous family Rubiaceae and is represented by 150 species, distributed mainly in the Indo-Malay region [1]
Southern western Ghats of India is considered as a rich repository of Ophiorrhiza as evidenced by the survey reports showed, 21 species and 2 varieties, of which 13 species are endemic [2, 3, 4, 5]
Phytochemicals other than camptothecin such as phenolics, favanoids, coumarins, steroids, terpaoids and alkaloids are reported from in O. mungos and O. prostrata where they act as antioxidants and free radical scavengers [15]
Summary
Ophiorrhiza belongs to the dicotyledonous family Rubiaceae and is represented by 150 species, distributed mainly in the Indo-Malay region [1]. Phytochemicals other than camptothecin such as phenolics, favanoids, coumarins, steroids, terpaoids and alkaloids are reported from in O. mungos and O. prostrata where they act as antioxidants and free radical scavengers [15]. The main objective of the present study to carry out the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of camptothecin, estimation of total phenolic compounds and evaluation of in vitro antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of O. mungos var.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
