Diospyros exsculpta Buch.-Ham. an underutilized plant: Comparative determination of mineral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and protein-binding qualities of different parts of plant

• Published in: Journal of Drug Research in Ayurvedic Sciences 2021-01, Vol.6 (1), p.40-49
• Main Authors: Dixit, Amit, Kumar, Vijay, Meena, Ajay, Srivastava, Bhavana, Nair, Parvathy, Sahu, Dipsunder, Rotwar, Dara, Das, Manosi, Narayanam Srikanth
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; hin
• Subjects: Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidants; Ayurvedic medicine; Flavonoids; Flowers & plants; Medical research; Pharmacology; Phytochemicals; Proteins
• ISSN: 2279-0357; 2581-8295
• DOI: 10.4103/jdras.jdras_9_21

BACKGROUND: Diospyros exsculpta Buch.-Ham. (DE) belongs to the genus Diospyros, is an underutilized plant and needs to explore its phytochemical and biological activities. OBJECTIVES: The Present study aimed to compare phytochemical and biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and protein-binding assay of twig and stem bark of DE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Biological and phytochemical properties of three solvents extracts of twig or branches and stem bark were analyzed. Quantitatively, minerals, antioxidant qualities, total phenolic and flavonoid content, and protein binding were analyzed. Antimicrobial activities were assessed against four bacterial and three fungal strains. RESULTS: It was observed that stem bark and twig of DE showed a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Good concentration of Cu, Fe, Mn, Na, P, and Zn has been observed. Comparatively, stem bark and twig have almost the same amount of nutrients (P ≤ 0.05). Value of total phenolic content (TPC) samples varied from 6.27 to 8.74 mg g-1 dry weight in methanol extracts, 18.48–24.09 mg g-1 DW in acetone extracts and 1.41-2.31 mg/g DW in petroleum ether extracts, which is called as gallic acid equivalents (GAEs). Total flavonoid content varied from 87.52 to 197.2 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g DW of sample for methanol extracts, 70.12–86.25 mg QE/g DW for acetone extracts, and 2.55–3.75 mg QE/g DW for petroleum ether extracts. CONCLUSION: It was observed that all three extracts of twig and stem bark of DE have significant variation for antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activities were variable from assay to assay as well as extract to extract. Overall, in antioxidant activities, polar extracts have shown the most effective results. All three extracts have shown a significant protein-binding assay, which was almost close to aspirin. Anti-inflammatory assay of various extracts has revealed potent anti-inflammatory activity. Significant linear correlation (P ≤ 0.05) of TPC with antioxidant activities favored its role in antioxidant activity. These comparative findings on phytochemical, biological activities of stem bark, and twig of DE provide compelling scientific evidence of its therapeutic usage.