Correlation Analysis of Phytoconstituents and Bioactivity in Medicinal Plants of Nepal

Abstract: Medicinal plants have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat various ailments. The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities of five different medicinal plants of Nepal and correlate them with their phytoconstituents. The plants were extracted with ethanol, and the extracts were subjected to antioxidant activity by DPPH and ABTS assays, antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method against five different bacteria and fungi, and cytotoxicity assay by MTT assay against MCF-7 cells. The phytochemical analysis was carried out by using standard methods. The results showed that all the plant extracts had significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities. The highest antioxidant activity was found in the extract of Curcuma longa (IC50 = 12.28 ± 0.23 μg/ml) in DPPH assay and in the extract of Alnus nepalensis (IC50 = 10.53 ± 0.12 μg/ml) in ABTS assay. All the plant extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and fungi, with the highest activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The cytotoxic activity was found to be maximum in the extract of Aconitum spicatum with an IC50 value of 8.05 ± 0.13 μg/ml. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic compounds in all the plant extracts, which may be responsible for their biological activities. The correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and the total phenolic content. The study concludes that the evaluated plants possess significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities and may be used as a potential source of natural antioxidants, antimicrobials, and anticancer agents