The myrobalan holds extraordinary healing powers

A study published in the journal called Free Radicals and Antioxidants reported that a fruit called Terminalia chebula (myrobalan) has potent antioxidant and antibacterial properties. According to the authors, T. chebula can be used as a natural source of antioxidants and antimicrobials that can treat certain diseases.

• Free radicals, which can cause various illnesses, often cause damage to different biomolecules like lipids, proteins, RNA, and DNA. Scientists posit that there are different plants and plant extracts with powerful antioxidant activities that may scavenge these harmful free radicals.
• For this study, researchers set out to identify the presence of phytoconstituents, or chemical compounds that naturally occur in plants, using in vitro experiments on various solvent extracts of T. chebula bark.
• The study authors also estimated the presence of various metabolites and analyze antioxidant and antibacterial activity in plant extracts using standard protocols.
• Selected bioactive (acetone) extracts of T. chebula were studied for their phytochemical profile via by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.
• Based on the results of preliminary phytochemical screening analysis, most of the solvent extracts of T. chebula bark contained different phytochemicals such as alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, glycosides, phenolics, saponins, and terpenoids.
• Acetone extract contained high levels of both primary and secondary metabolites when compared with other extracts.
• Acetone extract from T. chebula had very potent activity against Salmonella typhi (S. typhi).
• The result of the GC-MS analysis of acetone extract revealed the presence of 32 major bioactive compounds, like different flavonoid, gibberellin, phenolic, sesquiterpene, and triazine compounds.

The study authors concluded that T. chebula bark extract can be used as a viable source of antibacterial agents, phytochemicals, and natural antioxidants that can be used to treat different diseases.

Find the full text of study at this link.^[PDF]

Read more articles about other fruits with healing properties like myrobalan at Healing.news.

Journal Reference: 

Venkatesan A, Kathirvel A, Prakash S, Sujatha V. ANTIOXIDANT, ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES AND IDENTIFICATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM TERMINALIA CHEBULA BARK EXTRACTS. FREE RADICALS AND ANTIOXIDANTS. 2016;7(1):43–49. DOI: 10.5530/fra.2017.1.7