Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Activity of Rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum

Background: The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Objective: In this study the rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum (Zingiberaceae) were evaluated for phytochemical parameters & antimicrobial activity by determining its MIC (by checker board method) and zone of inhibition (by cup plate method). Phytochemical parameters were studied with the aim of drawing the pharmacopoeial standards for this species. This study was also designed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of the methanolic extract of the rhizomes of H. spicatum against various diarrhea and dysentery causing drug resistant microorganisms isolated from patients admitted in hospitals. Methods and Material: The raw materials of H. spicatum were procured from the local supplier. Various Microbial strains included various drug resistant hospital isolates collected and characterized in the Dept. of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, India. Results: It was evident from the results that the extract was highly active against Shigella boydii, Shigella. soneii, Shigella flexneri, B. cereus, Vibrio cholera, E. coli, S. aureus, Ps. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae. The result of determination of zone of inhibition was compared with that of standard drug (Ciprofloxacin). This study has pointed to the potential application of H. spicatum as a bactericide and fungicide. Conclusions: The findings of this study further reinforces the importance of H. spicatum rhizomes in traditional healthcare practice and its use in culinary. Further investigation is however needed to isolate and purify the bioactive antimicrobial principles for potential development into generic antimicrobials.


INTRODUCTION
H. spicatum (Ham-ex-Smith) is a perennial rhizomatous herb belonging to the family Zingiberaceae.It grows throughout the subtropical Himalaya in the Indian state of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand within an altitudinal range of 1000-3000 m. 1,2 H. spicatum rhizome is mentioned as Shati in Ayurvedic classics and has been used in various dosage forms to treat cough, wound ulcer, fever, respiratory problems and hiccough.The rhizomes have a strong aromatic odor and bitter taste.In local language, the rhizomes are commonly known as kapur kachari or ban Haldi. 3hizomes are also used as perfume in tobacco and insect repellent.The rhizome extract has been reported to contain essential oil, starch, resins, organic acids, glycosides, albumen and saccharides, which has been advocated for blood purification and treatments of bronchitis, indigestion, eye disease and inflammations. 4,5Rhizome is reported to contain sitosterol and its glucosides, furanoid diterpene-hedychenone and 7-hydroxyhedychenone and essential oil contains cineole, terpinene, limonene, phellandrene, p-cymene, linalool and terpeneol.The plant rhizomes possess hypoglycemic, vasodialator, spasmolytic, hypotensive, antioxidant properties. 6Powdered rhizome of H. spicatum has been used clinically for the treatment of asthma 7 An extensive search of the literature reveals no reports on the antimicrobial activity of the plant.Thus, present investigation was planned to find out the therapeutic level of methanolic extract of H. spicatum plant in antimicrobial activity.

Plant Material
The raw materials of H. spicatum were procured from the supplier (S.S. Herbal, 485/2, Katra Ishwar Bhavan, Khari Baoli, Delhi) and the sample was identified and authenticated.100 gm of air dried powdered plant material was extracted with methanol in soxlet apparatus for 96 hrs.After that the extract was filtered and again suspended in the above mixture for 24 hrs.Finally extracts was filtered and concentrated over water bath at a temperature of 40ºC.The extract was cooled and kept in desiccator overnight.The extracts was weighed and used for antibacterial and antifungal potentiality.

Physicochemical Analysis
All parameters were applied on rhizome physicochemical analysis i.e., percentage of ash values and extractive values, were performed according to the official methods prescribed in Indian Pharmacopoeia, 1996 and the WHO guidelines on quality control methods for medicinal plant materials (WHO/QCMMPM guidelines). 10

Preliminary Phytochemical Screening
Chemical tests were performed in the preliminary phytochemical screening to identify various secondary metabolites such as tannins and phenols, carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and sterols using standard methods. 11,12

Determination of MIC by Serial Dilution technique
The rhizome extract (stock solution) was reconstituted with a minimum amount of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).This solvent did not possess any antimicrobial activity of its own.Calculated volumes of this stock solution were dispensed in a series of McCartney bottles previously containing calculated volume of sterile cooled molten nutrient agar media (40-45ºC) to prepare final volume of 30 ml each with dilutions of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and1000 µg/ml.The stock solution were dispensed into molten SDA to prepare varying dilutions of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 2000 µg/ml while determining the MIC against the fungi.
Then these molten media containing varying concentration of extract were poured aseptically in pre-sterilized Petri dishes (70 mm) to give sterile nutrient agar plates with varying dilution of extract.These plates were then kept in refrigerator at 4ºC for 24hrs to ensure uniform diffusion of the extract.Then these plates were dried at 37ºC for bacteria and 25ºC for fungi for 2 hours before spot inoculations.One loopful (loop diameter: 3mm) of an overnight grown bacterial strain suspension (105 CFU/ml) was added in each quadrant as marked by checker board technique.The spotted plates were incubated at 37ºC and 25ºC for 24 hours for bacteria and fungi respectively, in an incubator and MIC values were obtained. 13,14,15

Determination of Mode of Action of the Extract
To determine whether the extract was bacteriostatic or fungistatic and bactericidal or fungicidal in nature, plugs from the zone of inhibition were taken out and reincubated into fresh media which were then examined for their growth after 96 hours incubation at 37ºC and 25ºC in an incubator, respectively. 15,16

Physicochemical Studies
Ash value of a drug gives an idea of the earthy matter or the inorganic composition and other impurities present along with the drug.Extractive values are primarily useful for the determination of exhausted or adulterated drugs.The alcohol soluble extractive was high in rhizomes of H. spicatum.The results of physicochemical constants of the drug powder are presented in (Table 1).

Preliminary Phytochemical Screening
Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and reducing sugar in it (Table 2).

Antibacterial Activity
The result in

CONCLUSION
The pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of H. spicatum (Zingiberaceae)) rhizome provided useful information for identification and authentication of the plant.The antibacterial study of the methanolic extract of the rhizomes of H. spicatum showed the maximum activity against Shigella boydii, Sh. soneii, Shigella flexneri, B. cereus, Vibrio cholera, E. coli, S. aureus, Ps. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae.The results of phyto chemical analysis and antimicrobial activity studies of the plants extracts confirmed its therapeutic usage, as depicted in the literature.
The active plant extract may be further subjected to biological and pharmacological investigations for isolation of antibacterial and therapeutic compounds.

Table 4 : Determination of diameter of zone of inhibition (in mm) produced by the methanolic extract of the rhizomes of H. spicatum and its comparison with that of Ciprofloxacin against selected sensitive bacterial strains*
Table3depicted the MIC values of the methanolic extract of the rhizomes of H. spicatum against various tested bacterial pathogens.It was evident from the results shown in the Table3that the extract was highly active against Shigella boydii, Sh. soneii, Shigella flexneri, B. cereus, Vibrio cholera, E. coli, S. aureus, Ps. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae.The result of determination of zone of inhibition of the crude extract of the rhizomes of the plant and their comparison with those of standard antibacterial agent Ciprofloxacin against the tested bacterial strains is recorded in Table4.The sensitivity pattern of the bacterial organisms to the extract was found to decrease in the following order: E. coli 358, B. subtilis MTCC441, V. cholera 1341, Pseudomonas putida MTCC 2252, V. cholerae 1311, V. cholerae 756, V. cholerae 575, V. cholera 1023, E. coli 872, E. coli 798, E. coli 18/9, Ps. aeruginosa AP585 NLF, as evident from table 5.