Phytochemical Extraction and Characterization of Roots of Withania Somnifera for Its Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Oxidant, Anti-Inflammation and Analgesic Activity

Abstract

Medicinal plants are a source of naturally active compounds used extensively by tribal people worldwide for many ailments. Withania somnifera(WS) is one such plant used to treat many ailments from the time of Ayurveda. The dried roots of Withania somnifera are widely used in the treatment of many disorders, the current investigation aimed at extraction and detection or screening of active phytochemical compounds from different extracts of Withania somnifera root. From chemistry point of view, the drug contains group of biologically active constituents known as withanolides. The chemical structures of withanolides have been studied and they are widely distributed in family Solanacae. Phytochemical screening of different extractions revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, and glycosides  which could account for its varied medicinal properties like anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-analgesic. The root samples of Withania somniferaare used to examine the anti-bacterial activity against some pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. The anti-bacterial activity of the powder extract was done with Chloroform, methanol and petroleum ether. Petroleum ether extract showed minimum anti-bacterial activity followed by aqueous, chloroform and methanolic extract.  In the present study, the free radical scavenging potential of three extracts of the root of Withania somnifera was assessed by measuring its capability for scavenging 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Our study demonstrated that the three different extracts of Withania somnifera root showed different level of antioxidant activity and is a potential source of antioxidants and thus could prevent many radical related diseases. In the present study, withaferin A (active component of Withania somnifera), a steroid lactone was examined for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties employing different experimental models in mice. The study was done to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of the aqueous, methanolic, choloroform and petroleum ether extract of the roots of Withania somnifera . The analgesic activity was studied using Eddy's Hot Plate method in swiss albino mice and for anti-inflammatory investigation Carrageenan-Induced Paw Edema method was applied.