Phytochemical Screening and Biological Studies of Different Extracts and GC-MS Analysis of n-Hexane Extracts of Stem Bark and Root of Calophyllum inophyllum Linn Growing in Bangladesh

Abstract

Calophyllum inophyllum is a medicinal plant containing numerous bioactive compounds with diverse pharmacological properties. This study investigated the phytochemical composition and antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of successive n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of its stem bark and root. The n-hexane extracts were subjected to GC-MS analysis to identify their major chemical constituents. All extracts contained steroids and terpenoids, while the occurrence of other phytochemicals varied according to solvent polarity. The ethyl acetate extracts exhibited the highest DPPH radical-scavenging activity, with IC50 values of 22.90 µg/mL for the stem bark and 45.70 µg/mL for the root, followed by the methanol extracts. The stem bark methanol extract had the highest total phenolic content (398.53 ± 1.89 mg GAE/g), whereas the root ethyl acetate and methanol extracts had the highest flavonoid contents and total antioxidant capacities. The stem bark ethyl acetate extract exhibited cytotoxic activity, with an LC50 value of 25.64 µg/mL, compared with 3.57 µg/mL for vincristine sulfate. The methanol extracts exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity, with IC50 values of 21.03 µg/mL for the root and 34.73 µg/mL for the stem bark. GC-MS profiling identified 14 compounds in the stem bark extract and 22 compounds in the root extract, with 13-docosenamide and glycerol 1-palmitate as the major constituents, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that the comparatively polar extracts of C. inophyllum possess antioxidant, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory activities.