Abstract

TRILLIUM GOVANIANUM AND PARIS POLYPHYLLA: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF THEIR PHYTOCHEMISTRY, ENZYME INHIBITORY PROPERTIES, AND ANTICANCER POTENTIAL

*Dr. Amit Saraf, Ridha Rashid, Uttam M. Yadav, Nitin Labhane

ABSTRACT

The Himalayan region is known to be one of the richest reservoirs of diversity of medicinal plants with many species of immense therapeutic and economic importance. Among these, Trillium govanianum and Paris polyphylla have become two highly important medicinal plants due to their broad ethnomedicinal uses and diverse pharmacological properties. Both species belong to family Melanthiaceae and contain steroidal saponins, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, sterols and other biologically active secondary metabolites(Negi et al., 2014; Rathore et al., 2020). Traditionally, their rhizomes have been employed in the management of wounds, inflammation, infections, reproductive disorders, and various chronic ailments. Scientific investigations have demonstrated antioxidant,  antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, enzyme inhibitory, and anticancer activities in extracts and isolated constituents obtained from both species (Rahman et al., 2015; Thapa et al., 2022). The occurrence of common phytochemical markers such as diosgenin and related steroidal saponins suggests a close chemotaxonomic relationship and provides a scientific basis for comparative evaluation. Furthermore, reports of substitution and interchangeable use of these species in traditional medicinal systems raise important questions regarding their phytochemical equivalence and pharmacological similarities. The enzyme inhibitory properties of these species, including β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase inhibition, have also attracted particular interest due to potential relevance in metabolic disorders, inflammation, drug metabolism and cancer-related processes. This review critically summarises the literature available on the taxonomy, ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of T. govanianum and P. polyphylla with emphasis on their comparative significance and future prospects in drug discovery research.

Keywords: Trillium govanianum, Paris polyphylla, Melanthiaceae, steroidal saponins, diosgenin, ?-glucosidase, ?-glucuronidase, antioxidant activity, anticancer activity.