A preliminary pharmacological evaluation of methanolic extract of Gymnacranthera canarica (King) warb seeds: A threatened species of myristica swamp ecosystem of southern western Ghats, Kerala

Abstract

This research works deals with the screeing of methanolic extracts of Gymnacranthera canarica seeds for antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant activity and total phenol, flavanoid quantification. The Myristicaceae family are well known for “Nutmegs” known to contain several polyphenol compounds like α-pinene, β-pinene…Myristicin is the key present in the Myristicaceae family. G. canarica is the only species of genus Gymnacranthera in India. It is an exclusive swamp species seen in Myristica swamp, one of the rarest and primitive ecosystem in the Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India. On the basis of local tribal knowledge that the seeds of G. canarica are used as wild nutmegs this study executed to understand the pharmacological evaluation in a preliminary level. The results shows that G. canarica seeds methanolic extract possess a promising antimicrobial activities against both bacteria and fungi. Mostly sensitive against gram +ve bacteria. The seeds shows a good antidiabetic potential in α amylase inhibitory assay (74.68%) at a concentration of 100µg/mg of extract. But the phenol conent (8.75µg/mg) and antioxidant activities are not in a great extend, substantiating the direct correlation between phenol content and antioxidant activities. High flavanoid content in the G. canarica seeds of 103.3 µg/mg of extract may be responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect by G. canarica seeds.