Chemo profiling and In-vitro Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory Activities of Vilwadi Tablet-An Important Ayurvedic Formulation

Abstract

Ayurvedic formulations have attracted great interest due to their potential biological activities and lesser side effects. Vilwadi tablet is an important antitoxic polyherbal ayurvedic formulation which is widely used in managing various bite injuries and systemic disorders, helps in the treatment of toxic symptoms from infections, improve appetite and overall digestive function. However, this formulation is not much scientifically validated and the chemical constituents responsible for their biological activities are not fully known. The objective of the present study is to identify the unique bioactive compounds present in Vilwadi tablet. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed that the formulation contains important secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and diterpenoids. The LC-HRMS analysis confirmed the presence of Piperine and gallic acid as the major bioactive compounds in this formulation. The total phenolic content and total flavonoid content of this tablet were found to be 19.6 % and 2.08 % respectively. Total Antioxidant Activity of Vilwadi tablet was found to be 9.23 mg of ascorbic acid/ gram of extract. The formulation also exhibited good anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the denaturation of protein. Further, molecular docking studies showed that the major constituent of Vilwadi tablet, Piperine, has a greater binding affinity compared to the standard anti-inflammatory drug.  The biological activities of Vilwadi tablet are due to the synergic effect of bioactive alkaloids, polyphenols and flavonoids present in it.