Phytochemical and Pharmacological Potential of Camellia sinensis L.

Crude solvent extracts of traditional medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years in different region of the globe for the treatment of various diseases. In developing countries, traditional medicines are used as source of primary health care. Keeping in view the importance of Camellia sinensis L., present investigation was aimed to evaluate the phytochemical and pharmacological potential of different morphological parts of C. sinensis L. Successive extractions of all plant parts was performed with different solvents like, petroleum ether, acetone, ethanol and water. Phytochemical analysis of all extracts showed the presence of polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides and carbohydrates in all plant parts with varied strength. Phytochemical analysis showed comparatively high percentage yield of ethanolic extract of all plant parts, hence was employed for evaluating the antimicrobial potential against 11 Gram positive bacteria, 9 Gram negative bacteria, 2 yeasts, 2 dermatophytes and 7 saprophytes. The petroleum ether seed extract and methanolic leaf extract was evaluated for the comparative anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential using different parameters like licking -biting response, inflammation of hind paw and writhing effect. The results showed that different pharmacological activities were due to the presences of various phytochemicals like tannins, resin and flavonoids, observed maximally in ethanolic extract with minor quantity of alkaloids and glycosides. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of dried roots, stems, leaves and seeds provided a conclusive support to the above results. Anti-inflammatory effect was less significant (p < 0.05) in seed extract, while leaf extract displayed highly significant results both at low and high doses. Likewise, both seed and leaf showed significant analgesic effects. However, compared to seed extract which showed highly significant (p < 0.001) increase in concentration dependent manner, leaf extract displayed highly significant results even at low dose with better results at high dose compared with standard.