Phytochemical Pharmacognostic and Nutritional Characterization of Panax species or Araliaceae from Eastern Himalayan Region India for Addressing Medicinal Issues

Abstract

In this study, we have focused on two crucial Panax species found in the North-Eastern Himalayan region of India, namely P. Bipinnatifidus and P. Pseudoginseng. We have carried out the pharmacognostic, phytochemistry, nutritional, anti-microbial, antioxidant, toxicology, pharmacology, and In-silico docking against two cancer-promoting receptors. The pharmacognosy study of Panax species involved organoleptic, macroscopic analyses and physicochemical parameters. The phytochemical study quantified ginsenosides and phenolic compounds in the rhizomes of P. Bipinnatifidus and P. Pseudoginseng and also determined the method and solvent selection for optimum extraction of crude saponins and phenolic compounds. The nutrition composition of the rhizomes of both the test Panax species was analyzed for proximate composition, amino acid profile, fatty acid profile, water and fat -soluble vitamin profile, free sugars and oligosaccharide profile, and mineral profile. The study revealed that both the test Panax species exhibited an excellent nutritional profile. The antioxidant activities (in vitro) of selected Panax species were done and results were found satisfactory. The anti-microbial study of test species was performed for the zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration values. Acute toxicity studies involving 14-day periods were carried out, and found safe for consumption. Pharmacology was carried out for anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and analgesic studies. In-silico docking and ADME-Tox were carried out against human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2) and the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor2 (VEGFR2) receptor with the compounds identified from this study. Two promising compounds with anti-cancer activities were identified in this study. newline