Phytochemical Characterization and Assessment of Hygrophila auriculata (Buch.-Ham) Leaves for Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity

Hygrophila auriculata is a thorny sub-shrub of the family Acanthaceae. It is a potent medicinal plant in the Indian systems of medicine with various therapeutic uses, from simple management of infections to treatment of diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the leaves of Hygrophila auriculata. The screening of various phytochemicals was performed using a standard procedure and the characterization was analyzed with spectral studies. The pharmacological investigation includes antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the extract. Antioxidant activity was carried out using 2, 2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging assay and reducing power assay. Antimicrobial activity was done by the agar well diffusion method. The phytochemical screening detected alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, carbohydrates and saponins. The 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl antioxidant assay reveals that the extract had a considerable scavenging capacity. It was found that the reducing power of different concentrations of the leaf extract was remarkable. Antimicrobial tests revealed that the leaf extract was active against selected Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and few fungal species (Aspergillus sp.). These findings disclosed that the Hygrophila auriculata leaves have various phytotherapeutic activities and the compounds identified using the gas chromatography were responsible for the above activities. Thus, it would be helpful to isolate the compounds responsible for the bioactivities in the future for treatment of various ailments.