PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND EVALUATION OF IN VITRO ANTI DIABETIC ACTIVITY OF CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS
Gakare Adarsh Naresh, Chaitanya Arun Nikam, Devesh Gore, Faiz Alam, Naina Sharma
ABSTRACT
The present study aims to investigate the phytochemical profile and evaluate the in vitro anti-diabetic potential of various extracts of Catharanthus roseus leaves. Extracts were prepared using petroleum ether, methanol, and water. The methanolic extract showed the highest percentage yield (8.45%). Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of key bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, proteins, and diterpenes, particularly in methanolic and aqueous extracts. Quantitative estimations confirmed that the methanolic extract possessed the highest total phenolic (0.652 mg/100 mg) and flavonoid content (0.745 mg/100 mg). Antioxidant activity, evaluated via the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, showed dose-dependent inhibition, with the hydroalcoholic extract achieving a maximum inhibition of 59.95% and an IC50 value of 114.01 µg/ml, compared to 80.23% for ascorbic acid (IC50 = 19.73 µg/ml). Furthermore, ?-amylase inhibitory assays demonstrated significant enzyme inhibition, with the extract showing 76.65% inhibition at 500 µg/ml (IC50 = 228.83 µg/ml), compared to the standard drug acarbose (IC50 = 25.32 µg/ml). The results suggest that Catharanthus roseus contains multiple phytoconstituents with potential antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties. Further in vivo studies and compound isolation are warranted to explore its utility as a natural therapeutic agent in diabetes management.
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