Preliminary phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of five medicinal plants of garhwal himalaya: a comparitive study

Abstract

The Garhwal Himalayan region is rich in medicinal plants, greatly valued by local inhabitants for health care needs. In this study five different medicinal plants i.e., Bunium persicum, Dactylorhiza hatagaria, Satyrium nepalense, Urtica diocia, and Viscum album of Garhwal Himalayan region were screened for the presence of major phytochemical compounds and also analyzed for their antioxidant activity. The air-dried plant materials were extracted with methanol using soxhlet extraction method. Phytochemical screenings of each plant parts (methanol extract) were resolute through standard biochemical analysis and their antioxidant activity were examined by DPPH assay. All the extracts showed the presence of carbohydrates except Urtica diocia. Satyrium nepalense and Dactylorhiza hatageria showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and steroids. Viscum album and Urtica diocia showed the presence of flavonoids and phenols. Bunium persicum did not show the presence of saponins and flavonoids. DPPH free radical scavenging activity indicated that the methanol extract of Satyrium nepalense possesses the higher antioxidant activity while the lower was found in Urtica diocia. IC50 value of methanol extracts of Bunium persicum, Dactylorhiza hatageria, Satyrium nepalense, Urtica diocia and Viscum album were 0.09, 0.21, 0.04, 0.42 and 0.14 mg/ml respectively. However,the result reveals that Satyrium nepalense contains potent phytochemicals and thus further studies can be done for its therapeutic uses.