INTRODUCTION:

Over the years, humans have been using medicinal plants to treat, illnesses. These traditional treatments from wild plants has always guided researchers to find new medications for keeping humans and animals healthy, also analysis of minerals from plants play a significant role in assessing their nutritional significance^1,2. People have been using plants for fundamental preventive and corrective medical services since time prehistoric. Ongoing appraisals recommend that there are more than 9,000 plants with known therapeutic applications natively used in different societies and nations, without any complete exploration³. Herbal medications are in high demand around the world, and research into are seeing many advancements⁴. Plant extracts are extensively utilized in traditional medicines, according to reports, and their contribution to the health coverage of world's population is believed to be over 80%, especially in impoverished countries^5,6. According to the National Medicinal Plant Board, India has between 17,000 to18,000 blooming species of which 7,000 species have been identified as therapeutic plants⁷.

The selected restorative plant Mollugo cerviana (L.) Ser. is a member of Molluginaceae family, a family of the medicinal plant. As is seen, the variety Mollugo generally includes 35 species, which is mostly found in tropical or warm climates⁸. Thread stem carpetweed and parpaadagam or Pada is its popular name. In Chhattisgarh, it is known as Kadu bhaji. It is found blooming like weeds on landmasses, in dry and sandy environments. Mollugo cerviana is an erect, slender, glabrous herb that grows to a height of 3-11 cm with a normal tap root of about 8 cm long. The stems are erect, stiff, glabrous, glaucous, and filiform. They have long internodes and are yellowish green. There is a whorl of leaves at each node from which the branches emerge umbellately. The leaves could be semi-centric or nearly isobilateral, fleshy, and subsessile⁹. The extract of Mollugo cerviana (L.) Ser. is known to treat conditions like fever, blood debasement, Gonorrhea, Hangover, Pleurisy, and jaundice¹⁰ and is also helpful as an antifungal, antibacterial¹¹, antimicrobial¹², anti-inflammatory¹³ diaphoretic, febrifuge¹⁴, stomachic and diuretic. In India, it is used as a stomach ache reliever and to encourage vaginal discharge after childbirth^15,16. It also improves vision and eliminates body odour¹¹. Further, It has, a cooling and constricting effect and is utilised in the treatment of Rakta pitta (blood loss), Trishna (thirst), Brama (giddiness), and Daaha (burning sensation)¹⁷. In folkloric medicine of Chhattisgarh, this plant is used to treat utrine disorders after childbirth.

TAXONOMICAL PROFILE¹⁸

Kingdome	Plantae
Clade	Angiosperm
Clade	Edicot
Sub kingdome	Tracheobionta
Super divison	Spermatophyta
Divison	Magnoliopsida
Class	Dicotyledons
Sub class	Caryophyllidae
Order	Caryophyllales
Family	Molluginoceae
Genus	Mollugo L.
Species	Mollugo cerviana (L.)

Figure 1: Mollugo cerviana plant

MICROSCOPIC CHARACTER¹⁹

Root

A - T.S. of old root entire view

B - T.S. of young root entire view

C - T.S. of young root a sector enlarged

Figure 2: Anatomy of the root.

The thin root's transverse section is approximately 350 μm in diameter and it has no growth rings. The thick root's transverse section is 800 μm in diameter and shows distinctive growth rings. The root's epidermis is broken down and dissolved. The outermost layer is a thin assembly that contains 4-5 coats of parenchyma cells. The secondary xylem is solid and dense, with no recognizable growth rings, but in thick roots it may have both distinct annual rings and semiring porous vessels. The xylem fiber are thick-walled and lignified. The vessels are of two sizes, narrow (15 μm) and wide (30 μm). The secondary phloem consists of four layers of cells.

Stem

A - T.S. of stem entire view

B - T.S. of stem sector enlarged

Figure 3: Anatomy of stem

A solitary sheet of spindle-designed, thick-walled epidermal cells with bushy cuticle compensates for the stem's transverse unit. Underneath the epidermis is a single layer of hypodermal cells, which are comparable to epidermal cells. The epidermal and hypodermal layers have a thickness of 10-15 μm. The cortex is made up of 4-5 layers of sclerenchymatous cells with lignified walls that are around 40 μm thick. Around the pith, the vascular bundles are organised in a ring. It is made-up of a ring of massive, compact metaxylem elements and one or two protoxylem elements at particular locations along the ring. The outside surface of the metaxylem elements has phloem elements, whereas the central pith cavity is encircled by three layers of parenchymatous cells.

Leaf

A - T.S. of leaf entire view

B - T.S. of leaf midrib sector enlarged

Figure 4: Anatomy of leaf

The leaf in transverse section, has a wavy and uneven upper and lower epidermis, thick-walled parenchyma cells in the mesophyll, and wide air spaces that can be seen under the microscope. It also has certain mucilaginous epidermal cells, with mucilage oozing out of the epidermis as clouds. Three to four layers of broad, thin-walled, compactly packed parenchyma cells make up the mesophyll. The midrib is not conspicuous; on the downstream surface, it is slightly bulged, and on the upper side, it is flat. The vascular bundle of the midrib is comprised of two small discrete xylem strands and a few phloem elements. The vascular bundle is covered by a layer of bundle sheath cells, and a layer of radially oblong cells containing chloroplasts is present outside of the hyaline sheath cells.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

This plant holds phytoconstituents such as carbohydrates, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, phenols, proteins, and alkaloids, when evaluated using standard procedures. The methanol extract was without any glycosides. Flavonoids, tannins, saponins, triterpenoids, phenolic groups, and glycosides were found in ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts²⁰. The C-glycosyl flavones - orientin and vitexin are identified in this plant extract²¹. Triterpenoids and mollugenol A and B are also present in the plant's areal sections, according to the reports. Mollugenol A was found to have antifungal and spermicidal properties²².

The flavonoids were the most plentifully present, followed by alkaloids, Vitamin C, and E. The plant methanolic extract contained 12.01 mg of alkaloids, 15.06 mg of flavonoids, 8.33 mg of Vitamin C, and 4.20 mg of Vitamin E. Plant’s secondary metabolites alkaloids, flavonoids, and vitamins set a defensive mechanism against a variety of micro-organism, pests, and other herbivores²³.

(a) Orientin (b) Vitexin

Figure 5: C-glycolsyl flavonoids in Mollugo species.

TABLE 1

CONSTITUENTS	CLASS	BIOACTIVITY	REF.
Orientin	Flavonoid	Anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and neuroprotection	24–26
Vitexin	Flavonoid	Anti-viral and anti-cancer activity	25
Orientin-2’O-glucoside	Glucoside	Sedative activity	27
Vitexin-2’O-glucoside	Glucoside	Enzyme inhibition	28

In comparison to orientin, vitexin has higher antioxidant activity^29,30. Vitexin is absorbed poorly in the gastrointestinal tract, which is unusual. It goes straight to the colon, where the gut microbiota deglycosylat and open the heterocyclic C ring, and hydrolysing it³¹. First - pass impacts in the gastrointestinal (roughly 94%), the gastric (30%) and the hepatic (half) sites, add to its low bioavailability³². When absorbed into the bloodstream, vitexin can bind to human serum albumin (HSA), with binding percentages of 97.3%³³. Vitexin is immediately and broadly disseminated in diverse tissues after intravenous and oral administration, as seen in rats and mice³⁴. On intravenous administration to rats, Vitexin was mainly disseminated in liver and kidney with the least amount going to the brain, and majority being in urine and bile³⁵. Isovitexin levels in the ovary were significantly greater than in other organs like the heart and spleen³⁶.

PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTY

Antioxidant activity

Free radicals can cause tissue damage, aggravation, neurodegenerative illnesses, cancer, and aging. The majority of phytoconstituents have the potential to remove radicals to a large extent. The percentage suppression of free radical scavenging activity of the plant is substantial (84.12 ± 1.06 %) and the percentage inhibition of nitric oxide scavenging activity is substantial (60.56 ± 2.74 %) in in-vitro investigations using the DPPH technique. Finally, the presence of phenolic groups and triterpenoids in plant extract may explain its antioxidant effect³⁷.

Anti-inflammatory effects

The plant is dried in the shade and given orally to male albino rats of the Wister strain, in which inflammation is induced by injecting Carrageenan. It had a 26% anti-inflammatory activity in acute inflammation induced rats and a 46% anti-inflammatory activity in chronic inflammation rats. The results were compared to those of hydrocortisone, a common anti-inflammatory drug. In addition, they have inhibitory action in contradiction of lipid peroxides, acid phosphatase, and gamma- glutamyl transpeptidase. The alcoholic extract at a concentration of 100 g/ml inhibited Phospholipase A2 by 49.6 %³⁸.

Antipyretic activity

On a brewer's yeast induced pyrexia model in rats, the ethanolic extract considerably decreased fever at higher doses within 3 hours compared to petroleum ether extract, indicating that the plant is antipyretic³⁹.

Antimicrobial activity

When compared to the standard antibiotic Tetracycline, the methanolic extract showed strong antibacterial efficacy against the tested organisms, with zones of inhibition of 16 mm for Escherichia coli, 14 mm for Staphylococcus aureus, and 15 mm for Klebsiella pneumonia. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi, the zone of inhibition is 11 mm. The ethanolic extract exhibits moderate activity against the above-mentioned species, but it is slightly less active than the methanolic extract, with a zone of inhibition of 14 mm for Escherichia coli, 12 mm for Staphylococcus aureus, and 13 mm for Klebsiella pneumonia. The zone of inhibition for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi is 9 mm and 10 mm, respectively⁴⁰.

Anticancer activity

Trypan blue dye exclusion and MTT test methods were used to assess phytochemical analyses and antiproliferative properties of various Mollugo cerviana extracts. Human cervical cancer (HeLa), lung cancer (A549), breast cancer (MCF7), and liver cancer (HepG2) cell lines all show a strong cytotoxic effect when exposed to the extracts. Hexane and water extracts had moderate activity against the cell lines, whereas ethanol, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extracts had strong activity. At the same time, all of the extracts examined had IC50 values that were 3-4 times higher than the typical human dermal fibroblast cell line⁴¹.

Hepatoprotective activity

The Mollugo cerviana plant provides significant protection against the harmful effects of CCl4 on the liver, according to the findings. Toxicity in CCl4-induced toxic hepatitis begins with endoplasmic reticulum alterations, which culminate in the loss of metabolic enzymes found in intracellular structures⁴². The alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the whole plant of Mollugo cerviana strongly prevented CCl4-induced liver damage in albino rats, according to biochemical investigations. The conventional medicine silymarin (25 mg/kg/ kg body weight) has similar results. When compared to aqueous extract, the alcoholic extract has shown significant hepatoprotective efficacy¹⁰.

Spermicidal activity

Mollugogenol-A, a saponin that belongs to the triterpenoid family, has been found in a number of Mollugo species. Triterpenoid saponins are abundant in nature and have a wide range of biological effects. This Mollugogenal-A has a considerable sperm immobilising effect. This saponin's combination of antifungal and spermicidal properties could make it useful as vaginal contraception with added protection against acquired fungal infections. In conclusion, this plant substance (mollugogenol-A) looks to have potential as an antifungal intravaginal contraception^43–45.

CONCLUSION:

According to recent pharmacological investigations, the total flavonoids in this plant (i.e., orientin and vitexin) exhibit anticancer effects. Years of traditional usage have shown that these chemicals have a wide range of biological functions, suggesting that they could be used to cure cancer. It is an essential herb of Ayurveda medication that is utilised as an antibacterial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective agent. The plant also possesses antidiabetic activity. This plant has been used in the many parts of India for uterine contraction after delivery of child.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The authors have no conflicts of interest regarding this investigation.

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Received on 19.05.2021 Modified on 15.07.2021

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2022; 15(7):3280-3284.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2022.00550