PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF OPHIORRHIZA PROSTRATA D. DON AND OPHIORRHIZA MUNGOS LINN. Krishnakumar G*, Rameshkumar K. B#., Satheeshkumar K*. and Krishnan P. N*. #
*Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Division Phytochemistry and Phytopharmacology Division Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute Palode, Thiruvananthapuram 695 562 E mail:
[email protected] Abstract
The genus Ophiorrhiza (Rubiaceae) is represented by 47 species in India, of which 19 are found in the Western Ghats region of Kerala. Plants of the genus have been used in traditional medicines against snake bite, stomatitis, ulcers and wound healing. Ophiorrhiza species, especially O. mungos have emerged as a source of the anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT), which has drawn great attention world wide as a potential inhibitor of DNA topoisomerise I. O. protrata and O. mungos are herbaceous species, distributed in the tropical IndoMalay region. The plants were collected from the forests of southern Western Ghats and studied for their chemical constituents by Direct Analysis in Real Time- Mass Spectrum (DART-MS), camptothecin content by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), total phenolic compounds, in vitro antioxidant activities by DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide and reducing power assays and cytotoxic activities. The moderate in vitro antioxidant activities of the methanol extracts of O. prostrata (IC50 49.60±2.37g ml-1 to 87.44±4.72g ml-1) and O. mungos (IC50 55.59±5.14g ml-1 to 80.30±6.71g ml-1) corroborates with the low content of phenolic compounds in O. prostrata (9.88±1.53mg g-1) and O. mungos (12.73±0.57 mg g-1). The presence of CPT was confirmed in both the species by DART -MS analysis. A simple and accurate HPTLC method using the solvent system toluene: acetonitrile: glacial acetic acid (65:35:1) has been established for the estimation of CPT in Ophiorrhiza species. The CPT content was very low in O. prostrata (1.47±0.03 µg gm -1 dry wt.) compared to O. mungos (188.60±12.30 µg gm -1 dry wt.).
