Studies on phytoconstituents, in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, antiparasitic, antimicrobial, and anticancer potential of medicinal plant Lasiosiphon eriocephalus decne (Family: Thymelaeaceae)

Abstract

Background: The present study has been undertaken with an objective to determine the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic activity of endangered medicinal plant Lasiosiphon eriocephalus. Materials and Methods: Aqueous, methanol, and ethanol extracts of leaves, stem bark, and flowers of the selected medicinal plant were screened for the presence of phenolics, tannins, and flavonoids. In vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazine and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assay. The antiparasitic activity of extracts was tested against protozoan endoparasite Leishmania donovani, and antimicrobial activity plant extracts were determined against Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. The anticancer properties of plant extracts were studied by cytotoxicity on cancer cells including HeLa and MCF-7 determined by MTT assay and DNA fragmentation assay. Results: The extracts screened for phytochemical analysis was found to contain phenolics, tannins, and flavonoids. The water and solvent extracts of leaves, and flowers had shown strong antioxidant activity in vitro. The leaves and flower extract showed the ability to inhibit the growth of both Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria. The results also showed increased antimicrobial and antiparasitic activities of ethanol extracts of flowers then leaves and followed by bark. The present study revealed that the treatment of crude extract of leaves as well as stem bark of L. eriocephalus exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against tested cancer cell lines. Conclusion: These results indicated that the possible secondary metabolites from the crude extract of L. eriocephalous plant have a potential as antioxidant, antiparasitic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic agent against cancer cells. However, further study needs to be carried out to understand the detailed molecular mechanism involved in the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in response to phytoconstituents derived from L. eriocephalus.