Phytochemical based strategies for pathogen control and Antioxidant Capacities of Rauwolfia serpentina Extracts

Abstract

Rauwolfia serpentina (Apocynaceae) is used among rural Indian communities to treat arthritis, skin cancer, burns, eczema, psoriasis, digestive problems, high blood pressure, sedative and diabetes, despite very little supporting scientific evidence. Due to increased interest by both the scientific community and industry regarding the medicinal uses of this plant species, we identified, quantified and compared the phytochemical contents and antioxidant capacities of extracts of Rauwolfia serpentina. Apart from extensively characterizing this medicinal plant with regards to its organic acid, polyphenols/phenolic acid, alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, alkane, pyrimidine, indole, alkaloid, phytosterol, fatty acid and dicarboxylic acid contents and antioxidant capacities, we describe a modified extraction procedure for the purpose of general phytochemical characterization, and compare this to a aqueous ethanol extraction technique. From the results it is clear that Rauwolfia serpentina contains a variety of compounds with confirmed antioxidant capacity and other putative health benefits relating to the prevention or treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and hypertension. The results also indicate that separate extractions of the Leaf extracts, better serve for general phytochemical characterization purposes, hence justifying its use for biological in vivo efficacy studies.