Phytochemical Screening and in vitro Evaluation of the Thrombolytic Activity of Chenopodium album L. Leaves

Background and Objective: Chenopodium album L. (Family: Amaranthaceae) is well-known for its nutritive and pharmacological values. Its leaves are used as a vegetable and recommended as a dietary inclusion for persons suffering from heart disease. Thrombus is the major cause behind the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the in vitro thrombolytic potential of its leaves. Materials and Methods: Leaves of C. album were collected from Udaipur, Rajasthan, dried and powdered. It is methanolic (ME-I and ME-II) and aqueous extracts were prepared. Besides, qualitative assessment of phytochemicals and in vitro clot lysis potential of its leaves in comparison with the positive control (streptokinase) and negative control (distilled water) was evaluated. Blood lipid fractions such as serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) and Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (Non-HDL-C) were estimated for finding out their correlation with thrombolytic activity. Results: Preliminary qualitative phytochemical analysis has shown the presence of flavanoids, terpenoids, steroids, phenols, tannin, saponin, cardiac glycosides, carbohydrates and amino acids and the absence of phlobatannins. A statistically significant (p<0.001) in vitroclot lysis activity of 39.70±0.99% was exhibited by methanolic extract of leaves as compared to streptokinase having 55.20±1.50% and distilled water having 3.62±0.30% clot lysis (n = 10). Notably, a moderate positive correlation between thrombolytic activity and total cholesterol, triglycerides and non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol was observed. Conclusion: The present study has first time demonstrated the significant in vitro thrombolytic potential of leaves of C. album. However, in vivo studies on a larger number of subjects along with the identification and isolation of phytochemicals responsible for thrombolysis are required.