Identification of Bioactive Compounds and Toxicity Study of Araucaria columnaris Bark Extract on Human Embryonic Kidney Cell Line

Abstract

Plants produce a diverse range of bioactive compounds making them a rich source of different types of medicines. Ornamental plants are cultivated for adornment and to enhance the appearance of houses and also for commercial purposes. However, only very few of these ornamental plant species have found to be used in medicine and only little literature exit on their chemical and biological actions. In the present study, the evaluation of antimicrobial activities and identification of bioactive compounds using TLC and GC-MS of the A. columnaris bark extract were performed. In GC-MS bioactive compounds with medicinal value were identified, such as Benzoic acid, 1H-N-Hydroxynaphth (2,3) imidazole-6,7-dicarboximide, 2-Propenoic acid, 3-(4-methoxyphenyl), 1H-N-Hydroxynaphth (2,3-d) imidazole-6,7-dicarboximi. To prove the nontoxic nature of the plant, its crude bark extract was subjected to toxicity study using human embryonic kidney cell line. It reveal that the plant is minimal toxic to the human kidney cell line so usage of appropriate level will found to be safe and also carrying out some structural modification will help in the extraction of new drugs for pharmaceutical purpose.