Original Articles
Maya Subramoni, Jithin Saji an
Abstract
The exotic freshwater weed Cabomba caroliniana A. Gray is found to have a fast spread in wetlands of Kerala (India), posing a threat to the inland water bodies. The present work was undertaken to characterize the bioactive molecules from Cabomba, in order to explore the potent possibilities of utilizing the plant as a medicinal resource. Dried powder of Cabomba caroliniana was extracted in solvents such as 80% ethanol, methanol, acetone, distilled water, chloroform and petroleum ether and the crude extract tested for in-vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, MMP inhibitory and antimicrobial properties. GC-MS analysis of acetone extract of the plant was done using Varian CP3800 GC system. The study indicated that various solvent extracts of Cabomba exhibited the degree of MMP inhibition in the order, methanol>ethanol>distilled water>acetone>chloroform>petroleum ether. Cabomba extract was found to inhibit the heat induced heamolysis in RBCs to varying degrees; acetone and methanol extracts were found to significantly protect the erythrocyte membrane against lysis induced by heat. The free radical scavenging potential of extract was found to be maximum in acetone (66.22%), followed by methanol (65.56%), ethanol (63.15%) and distilled water (60.92%). The antimicrobial activity of acetone extract of the plant at 800 μg ml-1 was found to be most pronounced against all test microorganisms under study. Acetone and methanol were found to be the most effective solvents; 600 to 800 μg ml-1 could be considered as the optimum concentration range. The GC-MS analysis of acetone extract of Cabomba showed the presence of thirteen compounds, of which five were prominent. The aquatic weed Cabomba caroliniana is endowed with many potential phytochemicals, which could be effectively utilized in the production of newer plant based drugs.