Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION AND PHARAMACOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SESBANIA SESBAN LEAF FOR ANTI-ULCER ACTIVITY

Priti Prabhakar Gaikwad*, Karna B. More

ABSTRACT

The present study was undertaken to investigate the pharmacognostic characteristics, phytochemical profile, antioxidant potential, and anti-ulcer activity of Sesbania sesban leaf extracts. The plant material was collected, authenticated, and subjected to standard pharmacognostic and physicochemical evaluation, which confirmed its identity, purity, and quality. Successive solvent extraction revealed maximum extractive value in methanol (30%), followed by ethyl acetate (26%) and ethanol (18%), indicating the presence of predominantly polar phytoconstituents. Preliminary phytochemical screening demonstrated the presence of flavonoids, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, and steroids. Quantitative estimation showed higher total phenolic content (32.8%) and total flavonoid content (36.5%) in the ethanol extract compared to the ethyl acetate extract. The antioxidant activity, evaluated using the DPPH assay, exhibited significant concentration-dependent free radical scavenging, with ethanol extract showing 92.68% inhibition at 125 µg/mL, comparable to standard antioxidants such as rutin, gallic acid, and ascorbic acid. Acute oral toxicity studies, conducted as per OECD, indicated that the extracts were safe up to 2000 mg/kg body weight. The anti-ulcer activity was evaluated using an ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model in experimental animals. Both ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts demonstrated significant gastroprotective effects in a dose-dependent manner. At 200 mg/kg, ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts showed 73.06% and 70.29% ulcer protection, respectively, which were comparable to the standard drug ranitidine (79.44%). Additionally, both extracts significantly increased gastric pH and reduced total acidity. The findings suggest that Sesbania sesban possesses potent antioxidant and anti-ulcer activities, which may be attributed to its rich phenolic and flavonoid content. The study provides scientific validation for the traditional use of the plant and highlights its potential as a natural therapeutic agent for the management of gastric ulcers.

Keywords: Sesbania sesban, Anti-ulcer activity; Antioxidant activity, Ethanol-induced gastric ulcer, Ranitidine.