SHILLONG: The insect-trapping capabilities of Meghalaya's carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes khasiana, have impressed the scientific community as well as the locals.
The groundbreaking study says that it has medicinal value and has bio-active compounds ranging from disease treatment to fight coronavirus, numbering as much as 22 in the fluid on its unopened pitchers.
The study, with the title "Unlocking the phytochemicals in unopened pitcher fluids of Nepenthes khasiana - A GC–MS Study”, was published in the Intelligent Pharmacy Journal (2024).
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of Meghalaya, Cotton University, and NIPER Guwahati have established a bridge between traditional knowledge and modern science.
Meghalaya's Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia tribes have used Nepenthes khasiana for centuries to treat diabetes, stomach ailments, and eye infections.
However, for the first time, this study got its scientific validation of the therapeutic efficacy, specifically focusing on the fluid taken from its closed pitchers-the preferred resource of traditional healers.
Palmitic acid, stearic acid, and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol can be mentioned as some of the more interesting bioactive compounds that were found from biofluids analyzed from Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, by means of advanced GC-MS technology; 19 of the compounds were noted to comply with the Lipinski's Rule of Five requirements on oral drug development.
The findings suggest connecting cytotoxic and animal assays to the fairly long list of pertinent bioactive compounds for possible drug development. All the researchers found it important to highlight the ongoing conservation efforts to preserve the then untapped medicinal potential of the species.
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