Abstract
Bauhinia variegata plant is a very popular and traditionally potent ethnomedicine. Therefore, it is need of hour to study ameliorative characteristics of B. variegata for novel secondary metabolites. The current study was designed to explore antiproliferative potential of B. variegata due to scant reports on this aspect. Extracts of various parts (flowers, leaves, bark, stem, and roots) were prepared by successive maceration using organic solvents in increasing order of polarity (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water). The determination of polyphenolic contents was done by using colorimetric methods while antioxidant potential was measured using reducing power assay. Brine shrimp lethality assay was performed for determining preliminary cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activity against breast cancer MCF-7 cell line using MTT protocols. Moreover, antimicrobial activities were detected by using disc diffusion assay. The alpha-amylase assay was performed to monitor the antidiabetic potential of the plant. In case of phytochemical analysis methanolic extract of leaves and bark showed highest phenolic and flavonoids contents. n-Hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of stem and roots exhibited more than 90% mortality with LD50 ranges between 1-25 µg/mL when studied by brine shrimp lethality assay. n-Hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of roots and stem also showed antiproliferative activity against human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line with IC50 values ranges between 12.10-14.20 µg/mL. Most of the extracts displayed moderately high antibacterial and antifungal activities. The n-hexane extract of roots showed antidiabetic activity with 60.80 ± 0.20% inhibition of alpha-amylase. In sum, these preliminary results will be useful for further compound isolation from selected plant parts for the discovery of antibacterial, antidiabetic, and anticancer lead candidates.
Highlights
Plants are well known for providing ordinary products for sustaining human health (Lewis and Elvin-Lewis, 1995; Mahmood et al, 2011)
The bark is used for salivation, sore throat, cough, haemorrhoids, hematuria, menorrhagia, enlargement of the glands of the neck, and tumors (Sudheerkumar et al, 2015), while decoction of the bark is beneficial for treating ulcers and skin diseases, and the dried buds are useful for treating diarrhoea, worms, haemorrhoids, and dysentery
The current study provides a more complete understanding of the potent activities of B. variegata, which serves as a foundation for the further investigation of valuable compounds for drug development
Summary
Plants are well known for providing ordinary products for sustaining human health (Lewis and Elvin-Lewis, 1995; Mahmood et al, 2011). The plant parts that are commonly used are flowers, leaves, bark, stem, and roots (Ali et al, 2015). B. variegata is a flowering plant that belongs to the family Leguminosae (subfamily: Caesalpiniaceae) and is native to Southeast Asia, southern China, and western India. It is known as the orchid tree or mountain ebony, and its local name in Pakistan, is ‘kachnar’. A preparation known as kachnara guggula is useful for treating tumors, ulcers, and skin diseases as well as for supporting the healthy function of the thyroid and the lymphatic system (Nadkarni, 1996)
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