Comparative Physicochemical, Phytochemical, in Vitro Wound-Healing, Anti-Inflammatory and Antiurolithiatic Evaluation of Blumea lacera and Anagallis arvensis

Abstract

Background:Medicinal plants constitute an important source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds and have historically contributed to the development of therapeutic agents. Blumea lacera (Burm.f.) DC. and Anagallis arvensis L. are traditionally used medicinal plants reported to possess diverse pharmacological properties. However, systematic comparative investigations integrating physicochemical standardization, phytochemical profiling, wound-healing, anti-inflammatory and antiurolithiatic activities remain limited.

Objective:The present study was undertaken to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics, preliminary phytochemical composition, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, HPTLC fingerprint profiles, in vitro wound-healing and anti-inflammatory activities, and calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystallization-inhibitory potential of B. lacera and A. arvensis.

Materials and Methods:Fresh aerial parts/leaves of B. lacera and A. arvensis were subjected to physicochemical evaluation, including foreign matter, moisture content, total ash, water-soluble ash, acid-insoluble ash, alcohol-soluble extractive, water-soluble extractive and crude-fibre contents. Preliminary phytochemical screening was performed for major classes of secondary metabolites. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were quantified and expressed as gallic acid and rutin equivalents, respectively. HPTLC fingerprinting was performed for chemical profiling. The wound-healing potential of B. lacera extracts was investigated using a scratch-wound assay in L929 fibroblast cells. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by inhibition of heat-induced albumin denaturation. Antiurolithiatic activity was assessed by calcium oxalate nucleation, aggregation and dissolution assays.

Results:The moisture contents of B. lacera and A. arvensis were 6.84% and 6.54%, respectively, while total ash values were 12.54% and 11.17%. Both extracts showed positive reactions for alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, sterols, terpenoids, carbohydrates, proteins/amino acids and phenolic compounds. B. lacera showed total phenolic and flavonoid contents of 55.18 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and 60.33 mg rutin equivalent/g dry extract, respectively, whereas A. arvensis showed 47.31 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and 63.23 mg rutin equivalent/g, respectively. HPTLC fingerprinting of A. arvensis revealed ten distinct peaks at Rf values of 0.07, 0.23, 0.32, 0.38, 0.42, 0.49, 0.60, 0.71, 0.78 and 0.87 at 254 nm. B. lacera extracts demonstrated enhanced fibroblast migration and wound closure in the scratch assay. At 100 µg/mL, A. arvensis and B. lacera produced 82.90 ± 0.91% and 78.26 ± 1.69% inhibition of albumin denaturation, respectively. At 1000 µg/mL, B. lacera and A. arvensis produced 42.63% and 34.25% inhibition of CaOx nucleation, respectively, compared with 51.15% and 45.37% for Cystone. The corresponding CaOx aggregation inhibition was 34.56% and 32.40%, respectively. In the dissolution assay, the tabulated values indicated 39.52% dissolution for B. lacera and 32.55% for A. arvensis, compared with 55.81% for Cystone.

Conclusion:The findings demonstrate that B. lacera and A. arvensis possess appreciable phenolic and flavonoid contents and exhibit promising in vitro anti-inflammatory and antiurolithiatic activities. B. lacera showed comparatively greater inhibition of CaOx nucleation and dissolution, whereas A. arvensis contained a slightly higher total flavonoid content. The results support further investigation of these plants as potential sources of phytopharmaceutical agents for urolithiasis and inflammatory/wound-healing disorders. Further studies involving compound isolation, mechanistic evaluation, toxicity assessment and in

vivo validation are warranted.