Phytochemical characterization and cytotoxicity analysis of ayurvedic formulation of drug

Abstract

The liver is a major endocrine organ which controls the significant metabolic activity in the human body. Treatment of several liver disorders with herbal based plant drugs is popularising nowadays due to their hepatoprotective and nontoxic effect. Livoral, a polyherbal Ayurvedic formulation is one such drug commonly recommended for liver disorders in India. The current work was aimed at studying the phytochemical characterisation and cytotoxic activity of livoral. Phytochemical analysis of extracts of livoral in methanol, hexane, acetone and petroleum ether was studied by TLC method. The cytotoxic activity of livoral was analysed by MTT assay in Vero cell lines at a concentration ranging from 10µg/ml to 500µg/ml. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of Phyto compound such as tannins, phenols, steroids, alkaloids, terpenes and carbohydrates in all the four types of livoral extracts. Phytochemicals such as phenols, terpenes and alkaloids were already known for their hepatoprotective activity.  MTT assay revealed the nontoxic effect of livoral up to 300 µg/ml concentrations.  Thus, based on the results of the phytochemical and cytotoxic analysis, the livoral was proven to be one of the best herbal drugs for liver disorders with hepatoprotective constituents and non-cytotoxic effect.