Screening of Therapeutic Potentials of Rosa Damascena Mill Flower (Aqua Distillate) as Neuropharmacological, Antimicrobial and in Different Metabolic Disorders

Abstract

The necessity of novel chemical entities is intensively served by the plant and herbal sources in the improvement and betterment of health care system. Majority of the marketed medicines are either derived or inspired by herbal medicinal products. There are several drugs in allopathic system that are derived from natural sources, mainly from plants. Today there is an extensive list of plants with known therapeutic activity. Natural resources are still considered as an important source for discovery of novel drugs and compounds. Rosa damascena Mill. also known as Damascus rose, Damask rose or Rose of Castile belongs to Rosaceae family is famous all over the world for its pleasant aroma and ornamental beauty. It is widely cultivated all over the world and is considered highly beneficial for human health as it contains high content of organic and inorganic compounds such as vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, tannins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds etc. Aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. prepared by hydro-distillation process is a rich source of polyphenols, bio-flavonoids, terpenes, volatile components and contains citronellol, geraniol, quercetin, kaempferol, eugenol, ellagic acid, linalool etc. As majority of the therapeutic and pharmacological uses reported from Rosa damascena Mill. flower are of its aqueous, hydro-alcoholic, ethanolic, methanolic or chloroformic extracts or of its essential oil and very limited pharmacological studies were done on aqua distillate of this plant, therefore, this research is designed to investigate the pharmacological potential of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. at two different doses i.e. 250mg per kg and 500mg per kg. In neuro-pharmacological studies, results of open field, light and dark box, water maze and passive avoidance tests revealed remarkable anxiolytic and memory boosting effects of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. administered in two different doses suggesting its beneficial role in different anxiety disorders and memory impairment. HPLC analysis of brain biogenic amines revealed positive effects of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. on brain dopamine and serotonin levels and showed its ability to prevent depletion of these amines and decrease their conversion into respective metabolites in brain suggesting its promising role in cognitive impairment, in neuro degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s (PD), in depression and different anxiogenic states including obsessive compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Alzheimer’s animal model and its histopathological findings revealed neuro-protective and anti-Alzheimer potential of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. which could be a novel addition in antiAlzheimer’s remedies. In in-vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive studies, our findings revealed notable anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive potential of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. at both doses. Our findings on metabolic disorder models revealed marked anti-hyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. in diabetes induced and hyperlipidemic rats respectively, suggesting its positive role in treatment of diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Our findings from metabolic cage method also revealed mild diuretic effects of Rosa damascena Mill. (aqua distillate). Hematological screening of Rosa damascena Mill. (aqua distillate) at both doses revealed hematopoietic potential of Rosa damascena Mill. suggesting its beneficial role in anemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Biochemical screening of Rosa damascena Mill. (aqua distillate) at both doses showed no fatal and toxic effects on major organs such as liver, kidney and heart suggesting its strong safety profile. Safety profile was also established by LD50/brain shrimp lethality assay in which aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill. showed no cytotoxicity suggesting its cyto-protective action. Overall these studies revealed numerous health promoting and therapeutic benefits of aqua distillate of Rosa damascena Mill.