In Vitro Anti Inflammatory and Antioxidant Properties and GC MS Based Phytoconstituent Screening of Methanolic Fruit Berry Extracts of Gaultheria Trichophylla Royle

Abstract

Gaultheria trichophylla fruit was collected from the western part of the Himalayan Mountains of Himachal
Pradesh. It belongs to the family Ericaceae. In our research, the inhibition of protein albumin denaturation assay and the DPPH radical scavenging activity were analyzed to reveal the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of G. trichophylla methanolic fruit extract. GC-MS analysis and qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were also determined. The preliminary qualitative screening of the fruit extract identified phytoconstituents like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, steroids, glycosides, tannins, terpenoids, and saponins. It was found that fruit extract shows 138.88±2.346 total phenolic content and 53.96±2.049 total flavonoid content at the highest concentrations. The fruit extract possessed higher free radical scavenging activity (91.54±0.015) at 250 µg/ml concentration, having an (IC50=23.81) when compared with standard ascorbic acid (73.47±0.020) at 250 µg/ml concentration, with (IC50=136.20) and is statistically significant. The extract also exhibited higher percent inhibition of protein denaturation (82.56±0.008) at 250 µg/ml concentration, having an IC50=120.98, when compared with standard aspirin (76.47±0.014) at 250 µg/ml concentration, having an IC50=65.09 (statistically significant). GC-MS screening revealed 45 therapeutically active phytoconstituents in the extract, out of which 2,3-Dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl4h-pyran-4-one (15.64%); Hexadecenoic acid (15.19%); Octadec-9-enoic acid (13.78%); 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (11.04%); 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (7.81%); 4H-pyran-4-one, 3-hydroxy-2-methyl (7.17%); 4-Oxopentanoic acid (4.07%); 4-Methyl-6-(tetrahydropyran-2-yloxy) hex-4-enal (3.06%); 2-Decenal, (E) (2.82%); and Octadecanoic acid (2.50%) were the bioactive constituents having a high percentage of area in the chromatogram. Thus, we conclude that the fruit extract of G. trichophylla can be a powerful source of bioactive phytoconstituents of therapeutic value, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant agents.