Phytochemical analysis, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Screening of Shoot Extracts of Viola odorata linn. from Shikari Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India

The traditional healers made significant use of the Viola odorata of the Violaceae family for its many ethnopharmacological uses. The phytochemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of solvent extracts from Viola odorata shoots were studied, and the antibacterial potential of the optimized extract was also examined. The Soxhlet apparatus was used to extract phytochemicals from shoots in four different solvents, including n-hexane, butanol, methanol, and water. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the stigmasterol profile of V. odorata shoots. The extracts were found to contain alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, and phenolics, all of which were found in significant amounts in the methanolic extract. The methanolic extract also showed the highest radical scavenging activity (79.23 ± 0.44 %). TLC and HPLC profiling of methanolic extract revealed a considerable amount of stigmasterol in the shoots of Viola odorata. HPLC analysis of the methanolic shoot extract of the plant revealed the presence of 0.009 µg mL-1 stigmasterol. Optimized Methanolic extract showed respectable in-vitro antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis (2.6 ± 0.41 mm zone of inhibition), E. coli (3.4 ± 0.71 mm zone of inhibition), and Candida albicans (3.5 ± 0.48 mm zone of inhibition). The outcomes demonstrated that the methanolic shoot extract of Viola odorata from Shikari Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India, is a valuable herb for further screening and might be prepared for in-vivo animal studies.