LC–MS Characterization, Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Cissampelos pareira Aqueous and Methanolic Extracts

Cissampelos pareira is a medicinal plant used in different medicinal purposes, and the pharmacological importance of this medicinal plant is related to the existence of bioactive phytoconstituents with antioxidant properties. The present study was designed to assess the phytochemical content, antioxidant and LCMS of aqueous (CIAQ) and methanolic (CIME) extracts of Cissampelos pareira. Qualitative phytochemical screening was undertaken to identify the major secondary metabolites, whereas quantitative estimation and antioxidant studies were carried out. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was also carried out to identify the major bioactive constituents. The results from the experiment revealed that the percentage compositions of the various phytoconstituents in the plant were 11.58% w/w for flavonoids, 13.56% w/w for saponins, and 0.056% w/w for terpenoids. The DPPH results revealed maximum inhibition for CIAQ and CIME as 66.25% and 72.40%, respectively, compared to 121.73μg/ml for ascorbic acid The reducing power experiment revealed that the value for CIAQ was 29.22μg/ml, while for CIME, the results were 33.76μg/ml. The results from the hydrogen peroxide experiment revealed 194.55μg/ml for CIAQ and 183.87μg/ml for CIME. LC–MS profiling identified major compounds such as limonin, hercynine, costunolide, daidzein, and chrysin in both extracts, along with trace phytochemicals. The experimental findings have confirmed that Cissampelos pareira extracts contain high antioxidant capacity, backed by the presence of high phenolics in the test extracts, along with the detection of the key bioactive compound using the LC-MS method.