In Vitro Analysis of Antioxidant and Antifungal Potential of Swertia Chirata
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v4i5.3249Keywords:
S. chirata, Antifungal, AntioxidantAbstract
The global occurrence of opportunistic fungal infections affecting both humans and animals is steadily increasing. Swertia chirata is an ancient herb from the Gentianaceae family, renowned for its medicinal significance. In present study, S. chirata samples collected from forests of Murree, Pakistan and were evaluated for antifungal and antioxidant activity. Bioactive compounds were extracted using ethanol and distilled water through the soxhlet extraction method. The antifungal properties of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of S. chirata were evaluated against Fusarium oxysporum using the disc diffusion technique. Furthermore, the antioxidant capacity of the extracts was assessed through the phosphomolybdenum assay. Higher concentrations of the plant extract resulted in greater zones of inhibition. No zone, 7±0.53 mm, 11±0.33 mm and 13±0.18 mm zones of inhibitions were observed at 0.01 g, 0.02 g, 0.04 g and 0.08 g in 10 ml of ethanolic extracts respectively. For 0.01g and 0.02g contraction of S. chirata in 10 ml aqueous extracts, no zones of inhibition were observed, however, 8±0.29 mm and 11±0.41 mm zones were observed for 0.04 g and 0.08 g extracts respectively. Total antioxidant capacity of S. chirata elevated by increasing the concentration of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts. S. chirata extract is recommended for in-vivo antifungal and antioxidant activity testing.
Downloads
References
1. Abubakar, A.R. and Haque, M., 2020. Preparation of medicinal plants: Basic extraction and fractionation procedures for experimental purposes. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 12(1), pp.1-10.
https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_175_19
2. Aschale, Y., Wubetu, M., Abebaw, A., Yirga, T., Minwuyelet, A. and Toru, M., 2021. A systematic review on traditional medicinal plants used for the treatment of viral and fungal infections in Ethiopia. Journal of experimental pharmacology, pp.807-815.
https://doi.org/10.2147/jep.s316007
3. Ayhan, D.H., Abbondante, S., Martínez-Soto, D., Wu, S., Rodriguez-Vargas, R., Milo, S., Rickelton, K., Sohrab, V., Kotera, S., Arie, T. and Marshall, M.E., 2025. Virulence of Fusarium oxysporum strains causing corneal or plant disease is associated with their distinct accessory chromosomes. BioRxiv, pp.2024-05.
https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.23.595639
4. Brown, G.D., Ballou, E.R., Bates, S., Bignell, E.M., Borman, A.M., Brand, A.C., Brown, A.J., Coelho, C., Cook, P.C., Farrer, R.A. and Govender, N.P., 2024. The pathobiology of human fungal infections. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 22(11), pp.687-704.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01062-w
5. Cighir, A., Mare, A.D., Vultur, F., Cighir, T., Pop, S.D., Horvath, K. and Man, A., 2023. Fusarium spp. in human disease: exploring the boundaries between commensalism and pathogenesis. Life, 13(7), p.1440.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13071440
6. Dai, J. and Mumper, R.J., 2010. Plant phenolics: extraction, analysis and their antioxidant and anticancer properties. Molecules, 15(10), pp.7313-7352.
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules15107313
7. Das, J., Thapa, S., Pradhan, D., Thorat, S.S. and Talukdar, N.C., 2013. Intra-specific genetic diversity, phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activities of a potential Himalayan Swertia (Swertia bimaculata Hook. F. & Thomas.). Industrial Crops and Products, 49, pp.341-347.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.05.017
8. Deepak, S., 2021. Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory and Anti-proliferative potential of Amaranthus viridis and Swertia chirata. International Journal of Plant Biotechnology, 7(1), pp.16-25p.
9. Dey, P., Singh, J., Suluvoy, J.K., Dilip, K.J. and Nayak, J., 2020. Utilization of Swertia chirayita plant extracts for management of diabetes and associated disorders: present status, future prospects and limitations. Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 10(6), pp.431-443.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13659-020-00277-7
10. Egamberdieva, D., Jabborova, D., Babich, S., Xalmirzaeva, S., Salakhiddinov, K. and Madazimov, M., 2021. Antimicrobial activities of herbal plants from Uzbekistan against human pathogenic microbes. Environmental Sustainability, 4(1), pp.87-94.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42398-020-00147-5
11. Gnat, S., Łagowski, D., Nowakiewicz, A. and Dyląg, M., 2021. A global view on fungal infections in humans and animals: opportunistic infections and microsporidioses. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 131(5), pp.2095-2113.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.15032
12. Kazmi, A., Khan, M.A. and Ali, H., 2019. Biotechnological approaches for production of bioactive secondary metabolites in Nigella sativa: an up-to-date review. International Journal of Secondary Metabolite, 6(2), pp.172-195.
https://doi.org/10.21448/ijsm.575075
13. Khan, M.A., Zia, M., Arfan, M., Nazir, A., Fatima, N., Naseer, M., Khan, S.A., Ismail, T., Alkahraman, Y.M., Murtaza, G. and Mannan, A., 2018. Antioxidants, antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential of Swertia chirata. Biomed Res, 29(13), pp.2722-2726.
https://doi.org/10.4066/biomedicalresearch.29-18-685
14. Laxmi, A., Siddhartha, S. and Archana, M., 2011. Antimicrobial screening of methanol and aqueous extracts of Swertia chirata. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci, 3(Suppl 4), pp.142-146.
15. Mazumder, M.A.R., Jubayer, M.F., Ansari, M.J. and Ranganathan, T.V., 2023. Swertia chirata (Roxb. ex Flem.): Chirayata/Chiretta. In Immunity Boosting Medicinal Plants of the Western Himalayas (pp. 511-539). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9501-9_21
16. Prieto, A., Basauri, O., Rodil, R., Usobiaga, A., Fernández, L.A., Etxebarria, N. and Zuloaga, O., 2010. Stir-bar sorptive extraction: A view on method optimisation, novel applications, limitations and potential solutions. Journal of Chromatography A, 1217(16), pp.2642-2666.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2009.12.051
17. Qiu, Z., Verma, J.P., Liu, H., Wang, J., Batista, B.D., Kaur, S., de Araujo Pereira, A.P., Macdonald, C.A., Trivedi, P., Weaver, T. and Conaty, W.C., 2022. Response of the plant core microbiome to Fusarium oxysporum infection and identification of the pathobiome. Environmental Microbiology, 24(10), pp.4652-4669.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16194
18. Roy, P., Abdulsalam, F.I., Pandey, D.K., Bhattacharjee, A., Eruvaram, N.R. and Malik, T., 2015. Evaluation of antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiabetic potential of two traditional medicinal plants of India: Swertia cordata and Swertia chirayita. Pharmacognosy research, 7, pp.S57.
https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.157997
19. Sameen, S., Khalil, M.B. and Khalil, M.U., 2025. Investigating the Antimicrobial Potential of Plant-Based Protein Against Human Pathogens. Science, 8, p.100070.
https://doi.org/10.70389/pjs.100070
20. Shahidi, F. and Ambigaipalan, P., 2015. Phenolics and polyphenolics in foods, beverages and spices: Antioxidant activity and health effects–A review. Journal of functional foods, 18, pp.820-897.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2015.06.018
21. Shereen, M.A., Ahmad, A., Khan, H., Satti, S.M., Kazmi, A., Bashir, N., Shehroz, M., Hussain, S., Ilyas, M., Khan, M.I. and Niyazi, H.A., 2024. Plant extract preparation and green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Swertia chirata: Characterization and antimicrobial activity against selected human pathogens. Heliyon, 10(6).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28038
22. Swati, K., Bhatt, V., Sendri, N., Bhatt, P. and Bhandari, P., 2023. Swertia chirata: A comprehensive review on traditional uses, phytochemistry, quality assessment and pharmacology. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 300, p.115714.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2022.115714
23. Thapa, R. and Jha, S.K., 2022. Study of fungal diseases on Swertia chirayita from cultivated fields of Dolakha district, central Nepal. Our Nature, 20(1), pp.41-47.n
https://doi.org/10.3126/on.v20i1.44951
24. Tumilaar, S.G., Hardianto, A., Dohi, H. and Kurnia, D., 2024. A comprehensive review of free radicals, oxidative stress, and antioxidants: Overview, clinical applications, global perspectives, future directions, and mechanisms of antioxidant activity of flavonoid compounds. Journal of Chemistry, 2024(1), p.5594386.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/5594386
25. Ugboko, H.U., Nwinyi, O.C., Oranusi, S.U., Fatoki, T.H. and Omonhinmin, C.A., 2020. Antimicrobial importance of medicinal plants in Nigeria. The Scientific World Journal, 2020(1), p.7059323.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7059323
26. Untea, A., Lupu, A., Saracila, M. and Panaite, T., 2018. Comparison of ABTS, DPPH, phosphomolybdenum assays for estimating antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds in five different plant extracts.
https://doi.org/10.15835/buasvmcn-asb:2018.0009
27. Verma, D., Pundir, S., Goyal, R., Aljabali, A.A., Dua, K., Chellappan, D.K., Tambuwala, M.M., Kumar, D. and Kapoor, D.N., 2024. Versatile therapeutic potential of Swertia chirata (roxb.) H. Karst: a review. Chemistry Africa, 7(6), pp.2941-2961.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42250-024-00978-3
28. Yadav, R.K., Kumar, S., Baghel, S., Kumar, G.P., Malik, J., Singh, S.P., Singh, G. and Siroliya, V., 2024. Unlocking the combined therapeutic potential of Allium sativum and Swertia chirata: a comprehensive review on synergistic antioxidant and antidiabetic properties. Int J Pharm Sci Med, 2(1), pp.15-20.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42250-024-00978-3
29. Zambra, C., Hernández, D., Reyes, H., Riveros, N. and Lemus-Mondaca, R., 2021. Kageneckia oblonga leaves subjected to different drying methods: drying kinetics, energy consumption and interesting compounds. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, p.641858.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Indus Journal of Bioscience Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
