Khan Ajmal, Panda Sujogya Kumar, Hu Haibo, Schoofs Liliane, Luyten Walter
Department of Biology, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology Section, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Centre for Animal Sciences and Fisheries, University of Swat, Charbagh Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 21;20(8):e0329735. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0329735. eCollection 2025.
Traditional medicinal plants are a primary source of natural products which are used for the prevention and treatment of various infections throughout the world. This study documents the ethnomedicinal investigation, phytochemical characterization, thin layer chromatographic (TLC) profiling and bioactivities of 17 traditionally used medicinal plants, belonging to 12 taxonomic families from the Swat region of Pakistan. The plants were collected after interviewing local ethnomedicinal knowledge holders, and confirmation of their effective use by the local population and available literature. The extracts (85) were prepared in five different solvents (hexane, acetone, ethanol, methanol, and water), and were tested for a range of bioactivities: antibacterial (5 Gram-positive and 9 Gram-negative bacteria), antifungal (6 yeasts), antibiofilm (S. aureus and C. albicans), and cytotoxicity (cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines). Results demonstrated that 25% of the extracts showed pronounced activity (inhibition value [IV] > 50%) against different planktonic microbes, and 35% against biofilm strains of bacteria and fungi, with ethanol being the best solvent. Cytotoxicity was often observed against a tumor cell, but rarely against non-tumoral cell lines. A number of phytochemical compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, steroids, terpenoids, coumarins, tannins, saponins, chalcones, and quinones were detected in the extracts using standard phytochemical characterization methods, which were further authenticated through TLC separations. This is the first study to report the phytochemical screening, TLC profiling, and bioactivities of these medicinal plants, particularly their antibiofilm properties, which have not been documented previously by other researchers. This work is a significant addition to the field which reinforces the importance of indigenous knowledge in selecting medicinal plants for drug discovery based on local remedies. In conclusion, plants like Juglans regia, Punica granatum, Artemisia maritima, Aesculus indica, Thymus linearis, Nasturtium officinale, Berberis lyceum, Dysphania ambrosioides, and Mentha spicata show promise for further research as a potential sources for novel drug discovery.
传统药用植物是天然产物的主要来源，在世界各地用于预防和治疗各种感染。本研究记录了来自巴基斯坦斯瓦特地区12个分类科的17种传统药用植物的民族药用调查、植物化学特征、薄层色谱（TLC）分析和生物活性。这些植物是在采访当地民族医药知识持有者后收集的，并经当地居民和现有文献证实其有效用途。提取物（85种）用五种不同溶剂（己烷、丙酮、乙醇、甲醇和水）制备，并测试了一系列生物活性：抗菌（5种革兰氏阳性菌和9种革兰氏阴性菌）、抗真菌（6种酵母菌）、抗生物膜（金黄色葡萄球菌和白色念珠菌）和细胞毒性（癌细胞系和非癌细胞系）。结果表明，25%的提取物对不同的浮游微生物表现出显著活性（抑制值[IV]>50%），35%的提取物对细菌和真菌的生物膜菌株有活性，乙醇是最佳溶剂。经常观察到对肿瘤细胞的细胞毒性，但对非肿瘤细胞系的毒性很少。使用标准植物化学特征方法在提取物中检测到了多种植物化学化合物，如生物碱、黄酮类化合物、酚类、甾体、萜类、香豆素、单宁、皂苷、查耳酮和醌类，并通过TLC分离进一步验证。这是首次报道这些药用植物的植物化学筛选、TLC分析和生物活性，特别是它们的抗生物膜特性，此前其他研究人员尚未记录。这项工作是该领域的一项重要补充，强化了本土知识在基于当地疗法选择药用植物进行药物发现方面的重要性。总之，胡桃、石榴、滨海蒿、七叶树、线叶百里香、水田芥、刺黄柏、土荆芥和留兰香等植物有望作为新型药物发现的潜在来源进行进一步研究。
