A tale of two medicinal plants: A comparative study of medicinal bioactivity of homoeopathic tinctures of Coleus aromaticus and Coleus zeylanicus

Abstract

A comparative study of medically useful biological activites of homoeopathic tinctures of two closely related medicinal plants, namely Coleus aromaticus and Coleus zeylanicus was conducted. It was revealed that the tincture of C. zeylanicus exhibited potent anti-bacterial activity against gram negative Klebsiella pneumoniae, E.coli and Enterococcus faecalis compared to C aromaticus which exhibited activity against S. aureus alone. Both plant tinctures exhibited similar anti-oxidant activity. LOX inhibition assay proved that both plant tinctures inhibited the enzyme and C. zeylanicus was more inhibitory. C. zeylanicus showed 54.7% inhibition and C aromaticus, 13.5% when used in the same concentration. The results of inhibition of denaturation of protein indicated that C. zeylanicus was more effective as an anti-inflammatory agent compared to C. aromaticus. The extent of inhibition was 68% and 55% for the two plant tinctures respectively. It was therefore concluded that C. zeylanicus was more useful medicinally out of the two plants.