Polarity guided extraction, HPLC based phytochemical quantification, and multimode biological evaluation of Otostegia limbata (Benth.) Boiss

Abstract

Otostegia limbata (Benth.) Boiss. (Family: Lamiacae) is an important underexplored ethnomedicinal plant that has been used as antinflammatory, anticancer and antibacterial herbal remedy previously. The present work was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antileishmanial, and anticancer prospective of O. limbata stem and leaf extracts. The highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid content was obtained in the methanol-acetone and methanol stem extracts i.e., 53.29 ± 1.33 and 28.64 ± 1.16, respectively with highest DPPH scavenging in MeH stem extract (IC50 = 34.5 ± 1.34 μg/ml). Significant amount of catechin, gallic acid, apigenin and rutin was quantified. A moderate antibacterial and substantial antifungal activity was observed. Cytotoxicity against brine shrimps categorized 21% of stem (3 out of 14 extracts) and 57% (8 out of 14 extracts) of leaf extracts as potent. Substantial cytotoxicity against THP-1 cell line (IC50 = 3.46 ± 0.25 μg/ml) and Leishmania (IC50 = 1.50 ± 0.23 μg/ml) was exhibited by methanol-distilled water leaf extract while noteworthy antiproliferative activity against Hep-G2 (IC50 = 0.44 ± 0.45 μg/ml) was manifested by n-hexane stem extract. Absence of hemolysis in normal RBCs signified plant’s selective cytotoxicity. Methanol-distilled water and chloroform stem extracts displayed prominent protein kinase inhibition and antidiabetic potential of plant. The results of present study recommend O. limbata as a potential source of antifungal, antileishmanial, anticancer, and α-amylase inhibitory agents.