Phytochemical Analysis and In-vitro Bioactivity of Scrophularia umbrosa Rhizome (Scrophulariaceae)

Scrophularia umbrosa is a medicinal plant used as a traditional herb. This study was designed to investigate the phytochemical analysis of methanol (MeOH), DCM, and n-Hexane extracts of rhizome as well as total phenol and total flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC). In-vitro β-hematin formation assay and DPPH method were applied for analyzing antimalarial and free-radical scavenging activities of the extracts, respectively. The formation of hemozoin has been proposed as an ideal drug target for antimalarial screening programs. The results showed that n-hexane and MeOH extracts of rhizome had no significant inhibitory effect on heme biocrystallization whereas the DCM extract of rhizome showed moderate antimalarial activity in comparison with chloroquine. GC-MS data showed that volatile portions of DCM and n-Hexane extracts from Scrophularia umbrosa (S. umbrosa) contained a few identifiable compounds. Moreover, fractions 20% and 40% MeOH-Water of MeOH extract of S. umbrosa displayed moderate to strong free radical scavenging activity which showed a positive relation between phenolic and flavonoid contents and free radical scavenging activity. Based on the results, the fractions of MeOH extract were evaluated by (1)HNMR for predicting the groups of natural compounds and interfacing of chemical and biological assessments.