In vitro antioxidant and anthelmintic properties of rhizome extracts of Hedychium spicatum

Abstract

Hedychium spicatum (Zingiberaceae) is an ayurvedic traditional medicinal plant known as Spiked Ginger Lily (English) (Anonymous 1994). It is a perennial rhizomatous herb, commonly found in subtropical Himalayan region. The plant is about 1 m tall with fleshy aromatic rhizomes and elongated stem with broadly lanceolate leaves and has different developmental stages of flowering and fruiting (Kirtikar and Basu 1999). The rhizome of the plant contains medicinal properties like antioxidant, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, antiemetic, antidiarrhoeal, analgesic, expectorant, antiasthmatic, emmenagogue, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, insect repellent, antifungal, pediculicidal and cytotoxic activities (Asolkar et al. 1992).Chemicals: DPPH, ABTS, rutin, gallic acid, ascorbic, trolox and pyrogallol were purchased from Himedia Chemicals and Loba Chemical Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. The entire chemical and reagents used were of analytical grades.Plant materials: Rhizome of Hedychium spicatum was collected and identified from Medicinal Plant Research Development Centre (MRDC), G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The rhizome were dried in shade and cut into small pieces and powdered and kept in close container for further uses.Preparation of extracts: The coarsely powdered rhizome was subjected to extraction by using soxhlet apparatus for extraction in different organic solvent, viz. methanol, ethanol, hydromethanol (1:1), hydroethanol (1:1) and aqueous extract. All the extracts were concentrated by using rotary vacuum evaporator and evaporated to dryness and kept at -20°C.

A Comprehensive Review on Pharmacologically Active Phyto-Constituents from Hedychium species

“…The methanolic extract of leaves of Hedychium coronarium (from the Lake Gardens of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) were used for the study. The methanolic extract obtained from rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum was found to have potent antioxidant activity [ 71 , 73 , 76 ]. The total phenolic content was estimated using the gallic acid calibration equation y = 0.0111 × 0.0148 (R 2 = 0.9998), and the total phenolic content of Hedychium coronarium was 820 ± 55 mg GAE/100 g, with significance of p < 0.05.…”

“…Aqueous, hydro-ethanolic, hydro-methanolic, and methanol extract were evaluated for activity; the study found that methanolic extract of Hedychium spicatum was as effective as Thiabendazole at 2%, 4%, and 6% concentrations [ 76 ].…”