ABSTRACT The present study explores the effect of solvent extraction on the biological potential and phytochemical diversity of less explored wild‐collected Pogostemon benghalensis (Burm.f.) Kuntze. flower and leaf extracts in all the solvents (methanol, acetone and ethyl acetate) exhibited antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, however the maximum microbial inhibition was observed with the methanolic extracts of flower (MeFl), whereas, methanolic extracts of leaf exhibited the highest radical scavenging with 7.66‐fold increase in 1, 1‐Diphenyl‐2‐Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition assay, 8.27‐fold increase in Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) activity, and 1.67‐fold increase 2,2’‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging activity compared to the control. The methanolic extracts of leaf and flower were further subjected to LC‐MS analysis for the identification of bioactive compounds. The results demonstrated 33 compounds in flower extracts (18 phenolic and 4 terpenoids) and 53 compounds in leaves (27 phenolic and 13 terpenoids). In depth analysis of the results revealed the presence of naringenin, rutin, resveratrol, glucopyranosiduronic acid, epigallocatechin, d ‐allopyranoside, cryptobeilic acid C, having proven antimicrobial activity and deoxycapsanthin, carotene, glucopyranosiduronic acid, naphthalenone and their derivatives having proven antioxidant activity. The study suggests that the choice of solvent for the preparation of extracts plays a vital role in harnessing the maximum antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of P. benghalensis , thereby enhancing its pharmacological potential. These results support that these plant extracts can be used for the treatment of bacterial infection.
Sharma et al. (Thu,) studied this question.