Janardan Lamichhane

Rhododendron lowndesii Davidian is an endemic medicinal plant of Nepal found in an altitude range of 3000–4100 m. This study investigates the phytochemical composition and bioactivities of its methanolic extract. The aerial part of the plant was extracted through methanol maceration to achieve 31.50% ± 0.92% yield. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, steroids, terpenoids, coumarins, and carbohydrates, with a total phenolic content of 175.63 ± 1.37 mg GAE/g and total flavonoid content (TFC) of 1090.36 ± 2.29 mgQE/g. Antioxidant activity assay of the extract suggested its strong radical scavenging activity through DPPH (IC ₅₀ :19.46 ± 1.85 µg/mL) and ABST is 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays (IC _50: 13.4 ± 0.20 µg/mL). Antibacterial activity as determined by the disc diffusion method, showed significant effect against Bacillus subtilis , Enterococcus faecalis , and Staphylococcus aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration: 312.5–1250 µg/mL) but limited efficacy against Salmonella enterica . High-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry identified pharmacologically significant compounds, including zapotin and cepharanthine. These findings suggest that R. lowndesii has rich phytochemical profile and bioactivity; this supports its potential as a medicinal plant and need of its pharmacological research.

Functional foods incorporating plant-derived bioactive compounds offer potential health benefits by providing nutrition in the form of polyphenols, dietary fiber, and vitamins. South Asia is rich in biodiversity and ethnobotanical heritage, and has the potential to provide a wide range of plants with high nutritional value. The existing knowledge and utilization of plants from South Asia that have been incorporated into functional food formulations, with specific emphasis on Nepal, is very limited. Cereals, millets, fruits, and medicinal plants have long been used in households to treat various health conditions, but their rich phytochemical and dietary fiber content remains incompletely understood. Plants such as Moringa, Ginger, and Amla have been successfully incorporated into bakery products, gummies, beverages, and dairy products. Additionally, several underutilized plants in Nepal and the region show potential for future use in functional food development. This review highlights the potential of plants in South Asia and functional food formulations based on these plants.

A BSTRACT: Rhododendron cowanianum is an endemic shrub of Nepal. This study investigated the phytochemical profile along with the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic properties of its methanolic extract. Qualitative phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, and carbohydrates. Quantitatively, the extract contained 105.4 ± 3.42 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of phenolics and 881.2 ± 5.70 mg quercetin equivalent/g of flavonoids. The extract showed the antioxidant IC ₅₀ values of 97.77 μg/mL and 39.63 μg/mL by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2’- azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) methods. It showed the zones of inhibition of 19.0 mm, 19.33 mm, 14.83 mm, and 10.67 mm and minimum inhibitory concentrations of 156.25 μg/mL, 312.5 μg/mL, 156.25 μg/mL, and 312.5 μg/mL against Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus , and Salmonella enterica , respectively. The minimum bactericidal concentration for S. enterica was 1.25 mg/mL and 0.625 mg/mL for the other three strains. The high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling of crude extract identified diverse classes of bioactive compounds, including lucidenic acid A, isopimaric acid, euphorin, and ganoderic acid F, which are linked with different pharmacological properties. This study profiles the phytochemicals of R. cowanianum and integrates them with bioactivity, highlighting its potential as a medicinal plant.

Medicinal plants have long been sought after as a source of potentially valuable compounds to combat cancer. This review purposes that the phytochemicals found in Nepalese medicinal plants possess significant potential anticancer activity, which calls for methodical evaluation. The study explores the methodologies employed in screening the anticancer activity of medicinal plants found in Nepal. Full-text original research articles were searched on “Google Scholar” and “PubMed” using keywords “Anticancer” and “Medicinal plants”. The obtained plant species in the articles were looked over in the National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories (KATH) Plant Database to confirm their existence in Nepal. A list of 71 plant species showing anticancer activity was obtained. Active phytochemicals and screening methods of the plants reported in the articles were then analysed. The 71 plants contained 84 bioactive compounds, namely 7 alkaloids, 10 polyphenols, 1 saponins, 5 phytosterols, 29 terpenoids, 11 flavonoids, 3 polysaccharides, and 18 other miscellaneous compounds that showed anticancer activities. Likewise, 77.78% of the studies used cell line-based in vitro experiments while 6.94% of the methods employed animal-based in vivo methods, and the remaining 15.28% combined both approaches. In particular, 54.51% of the papers used multiple cell lines, while the remaining used single cell lines. These findings highlight the trend of screening methods, significance and potential of these plants in anticancer properties.

The current research study aimed to assess the antibacterial, antioxidant, and toxicity effectiveness of eight locally accessible medicinal plants found in the Kavre District of Nepal: Schima wallichii, Woodfordia fruticosa, Cuscuta reflexa, Bombax ceiba, Drymaria diandra, Psidium guajava, Myrica esculenta, and Urtica dioica. Plant extracts were prepared in absolute methanol. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of basic classes of secondary plant metabolites; saponin, sterol, , tannin, quinone, alkaloids, terpenoids, reducing sugar, protein, cardiac glycoside and carbohydrate was carried out. Further, antimicrobial activities, free radical scavenging potential, and toxicity bioassays of the crude extracts were performed. The basic secondary metabolites were detected in all plant extracts. Among the studied plants, W. fructicosa, S. wallichi, M. esculenta, and P. guajava showed noteworthy antimicrobial activities against inspected pathogens. A significant 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was found in P. guajava, M. esculenta, B. ceiba, W. fructicosa, and U. dioca. Likewise, the highest toxicity potential was observed in C. reflexa followed by U. dioca, B. ceiba, and S. wallichi against Artemia salina. These signifies the potential of plant extracts in herbal medicine. Further work on screening of other biochemical properties will enhance the potential of these plant extracts in modern phytotherapy.

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. is a medicinal herb belonging to a family Saururaceae distributed in East Asian Country. It has long been used as edible vegetable and traditional medicine in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Many studies describe Houttuynia cordata as predominant in bioactive compounds such as volatile oils, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, polyphenols, steroid and polysaccharides. H. cordata has varieties of pharmacological properties including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral antioxidative, anticancer and antimutagenic effects. This review aimed to collect the comprehensive information on efficacy of Houttuynia cordata with its ethnobotanical value and also provide knowledge into disease prevention and treatment. This study summarizes detailed information about ethnomedicinal value of H. cordata from searching the keywords “Uses of Houttuynia” in Google Scholor, Pubmed, Science direct and screened out articles related to ethnobotanical value. The review concluded that H. cordata has significant potential for use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods, given its numerous health benefits and low toxicity. This study suggests that, it is necessary to identify actual bioactive metabolites and understand pattern of traditional use of the plant in different location of Nepal.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a group of root-associated bacteria that intimately interact with the plant roots and consequently enhance growth by extemporising nutrient retrieval or phytohormone production. We isolated and screened indigenous phosphate solubilising and auxinproducing PGPR from bamboo rhizosphere. 66 soil samples from bamboo (Bambusa nutans subsp. cupulata, B. balcooa and B. tulda) rhizospheres were collected from Dhanusha, Mahottari and Sarlahi districts, Nepal. 120 isolates of PGPR were obtained by serial dilution method in (PVK) agar and Luria Bertani agar. 92 out of 120 isolates of PGPR with the ability to solubilise phosphate were selected based on the halo colony ratio in PVK agar medium and auxin production in Luria Bertani agar. Among them, six isolates having high phosphate solubilising index and high production capacity of indole-3-acetic acid were further screened. Biochemical analysis revealed that these isolates belonged to the genus Pseudomonas. Phosphate solubilising index and indole-3- acetic acid production by six isolates ranged from 4.19±0.8 to 7.65±1.3, and IAA production ranged from 72.93±0.2 to 82.48±0.9µg/ml respectively. These isolates significantly increased shoot length (13.26±0.56cm), shoot fresh weight (16.26±1.02mg), shoot dry weight (10.56±0.09mg), root length (4.9±0.5cm), root fresh weight (7.56±1.05mg), root dry weight (3.21±0.01mg), and chlorophyll ‘a’ and chlrophyll‘b’ and carotenoid (2.16±0.01mg/g, 1.19±0.06mg/g and 0.92±0.01mg/g respectively) of B. nutans subsp. cupulata seedlings. This study suggests that PGPR isolated from bamboo rhizosphere demonstrated outstanding contribution to the growth promotion of seedlings of B. nutans subsp. cupulata as compared to negative control.