Phytochemical screening, antioxidant, and in vivo neuropharmacological effect of Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) barks extract.

Owing to its pharmacological versatility, the current study focuses the evaluation of Monotheca buxifolia (M. buxifolia) bark crude extract and its fractions for phytochemical and pharmacological analysis. Phytochemical investigation of bark extract was carried out through GC-MS, LC-MS and FT-IR. ICP-OES was used for analyzing essential metals in bark extract. Plant samples were further investigated for their in vitro antioxidant and in vivo neuropharmacological activities in mice. Phytochemical analysis of bark extract revealed the presence of various active constituents such as serotonin, α-tocopherol, 3-deoxyestradiol, ascorbyl palmitate and cirsimaritin. Metal analysis showed presence of various metals in diverse concentration. M. buxifolia bark extract and its chloroform fraction showed significant antioxidant activity against DPPH (89.55 ±1.29; 84.80±1.66%), superoxide (82.10 ±1.86; 80.0±1.0%), H2O2 (80.55±2.0; 78.10±2.26%) at 500µg/mL concentration. Similarly, bark extract and its chloroform fraction demonstrated antidepressant activity in mice and improve generalized locomotive behavior. The effective use of M. buxifolia in treatment and management of depression and free radicals based disorders can be safely concluded from the results of present study.