Comparative Analysis of the Anti-cholesterol Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of Biophytum reinwardtii, Trachyspermum roxburghianum and Cyanthillium cinereum extracts

Abstract

Biophytum reinwardtii, Trachyspermum roxburghianum, and Cyanthillium cinereum are traditional herbs in Ayurvedic medicine known for treating hypertension, fatty liver, and obesity. Abnormal cholesterol levels are considered as a contributing factor for these conditions. However, the anti-cholesterol properties of these herbs, which are highly valued in Ayurvedic medicine are yet to be explored. This research aimed to evaluate the anti-cholesterol activity of di erent plant extracts and analyze qualitative and quantitative phytochemicals. Plant extraction was carried out by maceration using three di erent solvents: n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The resulting extracts were subjected to an in vitro cholesterol reduction assay. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the above three plants were performed exclusively on the methanolic extracts, which exhibited the highest anti-cholesterol activity. All three plants exhibited signi cant anti -cholesterol activity compared to the standard Simvastatin, with the methanolic extracts showing the highest IC50 values. Speci cally, C. cinereum demonstrated the highest anti-cholesterol capacity, with an IC50 value of 17.48 mg/mL. B. reinwardtii and T. roxburghianum exhibited anti-cholesterol activity with IC50 values of 30.42 mg/mL and 27.83 mg/mL, respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenols, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, avonoids, and steroids in all methanolic extracts. Notably, the methanolic extract of C. cinereum displayed the highest total avonoid content (8.23% w/w) and total saponin content (9.18% w/w), while B. reinwardtii had the highest total alkaloid content (6.6% w/w). These ndings highlight the potential of the methanol extract of C. cinereum as a cholesterol-lowering drug.