In vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant Property, Chemo-profiling, Elemental Analysis of Morinda umbellata L.

Background: Morinda umbellata L., commonly called as ‘Manjanatti Kodi’ in Tamilnadu, India, is a rare traditional medicinal plant. The study was aimed to investigate the antioxidant potentiality, phytochemical profiling and elemental mineral analysis of M. umbellata leaves. Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activity was estimated for hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and aqueous leaf extracts by DPPH method; identification of phytocompounds by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and elemental mineral estimation by Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) analysis. Results: Antioxidant activity was determined in all the extracts studied, where the maximum 50% inhibitory concentration was registered in ethanolic (17.92±0.04 μg/ ml) and methanolic (19.35±0.60 μg/ml) extracts which was four times higher than standard ascorbic acid. About 19 phytocompounds were found in antioxidant rich ethanolic leaf extract by GC-MS analysis. Among the identified phytocompounds, 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, diethyl ester with a percent area of 94.98%, Guanosine (0.79%), Hexadecanic acid (0.72%), phytol (0.47%) were found to be predominant. The elemental mineral analysis is the first-hand report, that revealed essential elements such as Fe (5.65±0.58 ppm), Zn (0.74±0.05 ppm), Mn (0.46±0.04 ppm), and trace amounts of following non-essential elements (heavy metals) Cu (0.87±0.05 ppm), As (0.002±0.00 ppm), Cd (0.08±0.01 ppm), Pb (0.03±0.00 ppm), Hg (BDL). Conclusion: M. umbellata leaves were proved to possess strong antioxidant property due to an inclusive source of important bioactive components. It was also found to be non-toxic and the plant is a right choice for drug development. Hence, the present outcome provided a reliable scientific frame work, for the exploration of bioactive potentiality with pharmaceutical importance in future studies.