ANTIMALARIAL AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITIES OF AERIAL PARTS OF POLYGONATUM VERTICILLATUM (L.) ALL. AND IDENTIFICATION OF CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS BY GC-MS

The present study was aimed to evaluate the aerial parts of Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All. for its antimalarial and antioxidant activity. In vitro antimalarial activity was carried out against chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum while free radical scavenging assay was performed against DPPH. Chemical identification of constituents was carried out on GC MS spectrometry. The crude extract demonstrated potent activity (IC50: 14.75 mu g/ml) which further increased upon fractionation. The maximum antiparasitic potency was noted for n-hexane fraction (IC50: 4.86 mu g/ml) followed by chloroform (IC50: 5.71 mu g/ml). However, the remaining fractions were insignificant in the assay. The extracts of the plant illustrated marked scavenging activity against stable free radical, DPPH. The most potent antioxidant was crude extract (IC50: 122 mu g/ml) followed by ethyl acetate (IC50: 137 mu g/ml) that strongly augmented the antimalarial potential of the plant. GC MS spectrometry was used to explore the chemical composition of n-hexane fraction that can be attributed to the current antimalarial activity. Based on our findings, aerial parts of the plant could be a significant natural healing agent against resistant P. falciparum.