Phytochemical Evaluation and Free Radical Scavenging Properties of Rhizome of Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. Forma ligulata Yeo

Objective : To carry out phytochemical analysis of Bergenia ciliata forma ligulata rhizome and to evaluate its free radical scavenging properties. Materials and methods : Preliminary phytochemical analysis, estimation of total phenolic content, development of fingerprint profiles and estimation of gallic acid by HPTLC method were carried out as a part of phytochemical evaluation of Bergenia ciliata forma ligulata rhizome. Further, the free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using three in vitro models. Results : Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of phenols, tannins, flavonoids and sterols. Total phenolic content was found to be 5.78% (w/w). The solvent system developed for fingerprint profile and gallic acid estimation gave good separation of gallic acid from the other components of the extract. The HPTLC method for gallic acid estimation was validated in terms of instrumental precision, accuracy and repeatability. The amount of gallic acid in the rhizome of B. ciliata forma ligulata was found to be 1.54% (w/w, dwb). The methanolic extract was found to be a good scavenger of DPPH radical with an EC₅₀ of 36.24 μg/ml. The extract scavenged superoxide radical in a dose dependent manner with EC₅₀ of 106.48 μg/ml. Conclusion : Phytochemical evaluation was carried out for Bergenia ciliata forma ligulata, and a sensitive HPTLC method was developed for the estimation of gallic acid as a marker compound. This developed method can be adopted for the estimation of gallic acid from various herbal drugs and formulations. Further, the methanolic extract of B. ciliata forma ligulata rhizome was found to scavenge DPPH and superoxide radicals in the models tested.