Investigation on the Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibition Potential of Polygonum Plebeium R.Br: A Comprehensive Approach to Disclose New Nutraceutical and Functional Food Ingredients

The present work describes medicinal potential and secondary metabolic picture of the methanol extract (PP-M) of Polygonum plebeium R.Br. and its fractions; hexane (PP-H), ethyl acetate (PP-E) and water (PP-W). In total bioactive component estimation, highest contents of phenolic (89.38 +/- 0.27 mgGAE/g extract) and flavonoid (51.21 +/- 0.43 mgQE/g extract) were observed in PP-E, and the same fraction exhibited the highest antioxidant potential in DPPH (324.80 +/- 4.09 mgTE/g extract), ABTS (563.18 +/- 11.39 mgTE/g extract), CUPRAC (411.33 +/- 15.49 mgTE/g extract) and FRAC (369.54 +/- 1.70 mgTE/g extract) assays. In Phosphomolybdenum activity assay, PP-H and PP-E showed nearly similar potential, however, PP-H was the most active (13.54 +/- 0.24 mgEDTAE/g extract) in metal chelating activity assay. PP-W was the stronger inhibitor (4.03 +/- 0.05 mgGALAE/g extract) of the enzyme AChE, while PP-H was potent inhibitor of BChE (5.62 +/- 0.27 mg GALAE/g extract). Interestingly, PP-E was inactive against BChE. Against tyrosinase activity, PP-E was again the most active fraction with inhibitory value of 71.89 +/- 1.44 mg KAE/g extract, followed by the activity of PP-M and PP-W. Antidiabetic potential was almost equally distributed among PP-M, PP-H and PP-E. For mapping the chemodiversity of P. plebeium, PP-M was analyzed through UHPLC/MS, which led to the identification of more than 50 compounds. Flavonoids were the main components derived from isovitexin, kaempferol and luteolin however, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, gingerols and lyoniresinol 9 '-sulfate were among important bioactive phenols. These findings prompted to conclude that Polygonum plebeium can be a significant source to offer new ingredient for nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Automated summary

This study investigated the medicinal potential and secondary metabolic profile of Polygonum plebeium, revealing its high antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities, as well as identifying over 50 bioactive compounds through UHPLC/MS analysis. These findings suggest that Polygonum plebeium could serve as a significant source for developing new nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients.