Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Morphological characterization, phytochemical profile, and cytotoxic and insecticidal activities of diverse parts of Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam)

Talal Shaheer¹, Syed Tahir Ali¹, Ghazala Hafeez Rizwani¹, Muhammad Naeem Qaisar², Khizar Abbas³ , Muhammad Imran Qadir Qadir⁴, Faheem Ahmad Siddique⁵

¹Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hamdard University, Karachi; ²College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha; ³Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy; ⁴Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Bahuddin Zakariya University, Multan; ⁵Department of Pharmacy, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

For correspondence:- Khizar Abbas Email: khizarabbas@bzu.edu.pk Tel:+923228832872

Accepted: 20 September 2019 Published: 31 October 2019

Citation: Shaheer T, Ali ST, Rizwani GH, Qaisar MN, Abbas K, Qadir MI, et al. Morphological characterization, phytochemical profile, and cytotoxic and insecticidal activities of diverse parts of Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam). Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(10):2147-2154 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i10.21

© 2019 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To standardize Zakham-e-Hayat (Bryophyllum pinnatum Lam.) as well as determine its cytotoxic and insecticidal activity.

Methods: Different parts of the plant (flowers, young leaves, old leaves and stem) and different solvents, viz, methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane were used for the extraction. Morphological characterization (macroscopic and microscopic), phytochemical screening for primary and secondary metabolites, and thin layer chromatography (TLC) using various solvent systems, namely, methanol/chloroform (MeOH/CHCl₃), n-hexane/methanol/chloroform (n-hexane/MeOH/CHCl₃), methanol/chloroform/water (MeOH/CHCl₃/H₂O), n-hexane/chloroform (n-hexane/CHCl₃), n-hexane/ethyl acetate (n-hexane/EtOAc) were carried out. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was also performed. In addition, the extracts were evaluated for their cytotoxic and insecticidal activities.

Results: The methanol fraction of the young leaves had 50% lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 28.46 µg/mL while the ethyl acetate fraction of young and old leaves showed significant cytotoxicity at LD₅₀ of 0.13 µg/mL and 142.68 µg/mL respectively. On the other hand, n-hexane fraction was inactive. The methanol fraction of the flower revealed the presence of carbohydrates, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the presence of carbohydrates and amino acids, while the n-hexane fraction showed the presence of carbohydrates as primary metabolites. Furthermore, alkaloids, flavonoid, saponins and resins were present in the methanol fraction, flavonoid and alkaloids in the ethyl acetate fraction, and alkaloids and resins in the n-hexane fraction as secondary metabolites.

Conclusion: Methanol and n-hexane fractions of Bryophyllum pinnatum have some safe bioactive compounds which may exhibit potential health benefits.

Keywords: Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.), Phytochemical, Histology, Insecticidal, Toxicology