Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Extracts from Wild and in Vitro-Raised Cultures of Prunella vulgaris L

MeOH, EtOH, CHCl3 and aqueous extracts from the whole plant of wild Prunella vulgaris, a Kashmir Himalayan perennial medicinal herb, as well as from in vitro-regenerated plants were evaluated and compared for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Antioxidant activity was screened by using various in vitro models: scavenging of the free radicals using DPPH, riboflavin photo oxidation, DNA damage, inhibition of lipid oxidation via PMS, FTC and TBA assay. The MeOH and CHCl3 extract from wild and in vitro-regenerated plants possessed an almost equal radical scavenging effect. In vitro and wild grown plant extracts in different solvent systems were also screened for antimicrobial activity against medically important bacterial strains by the agar well diffusion method. The MeOH extract of both (wild and in vitro) plants extracts were almost equally effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Kleibsella pneumonae. Both in vitro and wild dried plant extracts showed an almost similar concentrationdependent antioxidant and antimicrobial inhibition. Therefore, the commercial manufacture of active constituents from these improved elite lines would be useful and profitable. The present study provides first evidence that in vitro grown P. vulgaris has antioxidant and antibacterial activities, suggesting the potential of the tissue culture technique to substitute wild P. vulgaris in the pharmaceutical industry. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________