TY  - EJOU
AU  - Dimri, Deen Bandhu 
AU  - Nigam, Manisha 
AU  - Singh, Naresh 
AU  - Semwal, Shilpa 
AU  - Iriti, Marcello 
AU  - Mishra, Abhay Prakash 

TI  - Orchestrating the Phytochemical Content and Bioactivities in the Leaf, Bark, and Fruit Extracts of <i>Cornus capitata</i> Wall
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 2025
VL  - 94
IS  - 3
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - <i>Cornus capitata</i>, commonly known as the Himalayan strawberry, is a dogwood species from the family Cornaceae. Dogwood plants have been used extensively to practice conventional medicine due to their biological activities; however, the mechanisms behind these activities, particularly in <i>C. capitata</i>, remain largely unexplored. This study focuses on the preliminary phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity, anti-diabetic potential, and antimicrobial profiling of different extracts (i.e., leaves, bark, and fruit) from <i>C. capitata</i> to evaluate its potential pharmaceutical and medicinal applications. The <i>in-vitro</i> antioxidant activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay, Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and Superoxide Anion Scavenging assay. The anti-diabetic potential was assessed using α-Glucosidase, α-Amylase, and Pancreatic lipase inhibition assay. The anti-microbial activity was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer method and Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). According to the quantitative investigation, the most substantial quantities of flavonoids and phenolic compounds were identified in the leaves of <i>C. capitata</i>. Antioxidant activity results corroborated this conclusion, demonstrating that methanolic leaf extract had strong antioxidant activity, with the lowest IC<sub>50</sub> values recorded for the DPPH (32.4 ± 0.19 µg/mL) and Superoxide Radical Scavenging (37.10 ± 0.21 µg/mL) assays. Furthermore, the methanolic leaf extract displayed the highest α-Glucosidase inhibitory potential (IC<sub>50</sub> = 6.09 ± 0.52 µg/mL), while the methanolic bark extract exhibited the highest α-Amylase inhibitory activity (IC<sub>50</sub> = 49.10 ± 0.38 µg/mL). Regarding antimicrobial potential, the paper disc diffusion assay showed that none of the extracts demonstrated antibacterial effects against <i>E. coli</i>. However, the MIC assay revealed that the leaves and bark extracts exhibited antibacterial properties with MIC values of 80 and 500 µg/mL against <i>E. coli</i>, respectively. The paper disc diffusion assay against <i>C. albicans</i> indicated the antimicrobial potency of all three extracts. The crude methanolic extract of <i>C. capitata</i> shows strong antioxidant and antidiabetic potential, highlighting its therapeutic value. This is the first comparative investigation of leaf, bark, and fruit extracts of <i>C. capitata</i> to orchestrate the phytochemical profile and evaluate the antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activities. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to understand its biological implications.
KW  - <i>Cornus capitata</i>; phytochemical; antioxidant; α-Glucosidase; α-Amylase
KW  -  antimicrobial

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2025.061270