Screening for the Biochemical Profile and Biological Activity in Cephalotaxus and Taxus Collected from North-Eastern Himalayas

Cephalotaxus and Taxus both possess significant medicinalvaluesin the traditional medicine system. Even though the tribal communitiesin the Himalayas have used these genera extensively, little is knownabout their ethnopharmacological properties. The study aims to investigatethe biochemical profile and biological activities of various extractsof Cephalotaxus and Taxus. This study examined six different accessionsof Cephalotaxus and Taxus growing in the northeastern Himalayan regionof India for their biochemical components and biological activities.This report considers three species of Cephalotaxus, namely, C. mannii, C. sinensis, and C. griffithii, and one speciesof Taxus viz. Taxus wallichiana. Thestem and leaf extracts of all six selected accessions were biochemicallycharacterized using HPLC/LC-MS. Results have demonstrated thepresence of several medicinally important chemicals like harringtonine,rutin, caffeic acid, gallic acid, and a few other biologically activecompounds. The isolates were tested for their antibacterial and anti-plasmodialproperties. The zone of inhibitions for various extracts ranged from3-11 mm in the case of Cephalotaxus and 3-6 mm for Taxus.Leaf and stem extracts of all six accessions were found negative forantiplasmodial properties. The data from this study can further serveas a framework for a thorough analysis of various compounds and theirantibacterial and antimalarial properties.