Phytochemical Screening, Quantitative Analysis and In Vitro Cytotoxic Potential of Justicia adhathoda Leaf Extracts
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Date
2021
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Justicia adhathoda L., also known as “Adhathoda” is one of the widely used medicinal plants in
indigenous medicinal systems in Sri Lanka and India. Previous studies have found several beneficial
effects of different solvent extracts of this plant. However, the best solvent to extract much of the
phytoconstituents has not been studied. Therefore, the present study was focused on identification,
quantification of phytoconstituents in different crude extracts and in vitro cytotoxic effect of J.
adhathoda. Plant leaves were collected from Ambilipitiya, Sri Lanka. Ethanol (EE), hexane (HE) and
water (WE) extracts were prepared by adding 1 g of powdered leaf samples to 25 mL of ethanol
(99.9%), n-hexane and distilled water, separately in triplicates. Preliminary phytochemical screening
was performed according to the Harborne method. Total phenolic content (TPC) was measured
spectrophotometrically by Folin-Ciocalteu assay and total flavonoid content (TFC) was determined
using aluminum chloride colorimetric assay. To identify the toxicity level of J. adhathoda, different
concentration of the WE were exposed to 3T3-L1 cells, a well-established cell culture model that is
extensively used to study adipogenesis. The treatment was carried out for 8 days and performed MTS
assay to determine the suitability of the WE consumption. Phytochemical screening results showed
the availability of flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, anthocyanins, alkaloids and coumarins in the WE.
In contrast, tannin and alkaloids were abundant in the EE. TPC in the WE was 8-fold higher than the
EE. The TFC in the EE was 20-fold higher than HE, and marked the highest. Collectively, the best
solvent to extract the maximum amount of phytoconstituents was found as distilled water. The WE
showed no toxicity below 500 μg/mL against 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The presence of high content of
different phytoconstituents in WE of J. adhathoda is a great advantage to gain the health benefits as
herbal tea or herbal porridges. These results provide referential information to identify the medicinal
value of J. adhathoda and to be utilized in screening novel target compounds to treat various
diseases.
Keywords: Justicia adhathoda; phytochemical analysis; Medicinal plant; TFC; TPC; 3T3-L1
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Keywords
Agriculture, Medicinal Plants, Crop Production, Crop Production Technology