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INNOSC Theranostics and Pharmacological Sciences 2022 Vol. 5 (No. 2) pp: 22-31

INNOSC Theranostics and Pharmacological Sciences

Journal homepage: https://accscience.com/journal/ITPS

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Screening of Biological Activity of Selected Medicinal Orchids of

Western Ghats, Karnataka, India

Hemanthkumar Madhavamurthy , Mahendra Chikkamadaiah , and Sharada M. Suryanarayana *
2
2
1
1 Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Botany, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore, Karnataka, India
2 Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Botany, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore, Karnataka, India
*Corresponding author: Sharada M. Suryanarayana, Email: mssharada.botany@gmail.com
Received: October 27, 2022; Accepted: June 21, 2023; Published: July 24, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/itps.239
Copyright: Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International
4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, which provided that
the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The present work was carried out to investigate the presence of bioactive compounds in selected medicinal orchids such as Dendrobium
jerdonianum, Dendrobium barbatulum, Eria mysorensis, Bulbophyllum neilgherrense, and Pholidota pallida. The phytochemical,
antibacterial, and antioxidant properties of the plants were evaluated using extracts obtained through chloroform, methanol, and aqueous
extraction methods, respectively. The results of the phytochemical test showed the presence of diverse classes of secondary metabolites
such as alkaloids, steroids, triterpenes, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrates, resins, proteins, glycosides, and phenolics. The
presence of these phytochemicals varied among different solvent extracts among the selected plants. Among the plant extracts tested,
D. Jerdonianum and P. pallida offered significant p ≥ 0.05 antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus
subtilis, Shigella flexneri, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 0.312 to
2.5 mg/mL. Among the plant extracts tested, methanol extract of Erythrina mysorensis (29.38%), B. neilgherrense (15.92%), P. pallida
(13.84%), and D. barbatulum (13.10%) showed highest phenolic contents, followed by chloroform and aqueous extracts in all the
plants. E. mysoriensis and D. jerdonianum exhibited highest antioxidant properties at 85.41% and 81.28% (with IC values of 36.49
50
and 43.72 μg/mL), respectively, while the positive control, gallic acid, displayed antioxidant properties of 94.61% (with an IC values
50
of 30.49 μg/mL). These results warrant further studies on using these selected orchids for therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications.
Keywords: Antibacterial, Antioxidants, Orchids, Phytochemistry

1. Introduction most ecologically and morphologically diverse
member of angiosperms [3]. In India, the diversity
Medicinal plants such as herbs, shrubs, and woody of Orchidaceae members is represented by 1331
plants have played a crucial role in the development species across 186 genera, due to their adaptable
of new therapeutic drugs, contributing to the nature. Orchids can be classified as epiphytic
improvement of human life for thousands of years. (growing on trees or shrubs), saprophytic (growing
These biologically active therapeutic agents have on dead and decaying matter), or terrestrials
served as a valuable source of new natural products (growing on the ground). They are highly sensitive
for humans [1]. Orchidaceae is one of the biggest to habitat degradation and fragmentation [4,5].
and most well-known families of flowering plants The majority of orchid plants are highly medicinal
in the plant kingdom [2]. With approximately and used to combat various ailments [6,7]. These
779 genera and 22,500 species, it stands as the plants are also used to extract various natural

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