Phytochemical screening, free radical scavenging, antifungal and anticancer activities of Zanthoxylum bungeanum with GC–MS Identification of its bioactive constituents

Abstract

This study investigated the chemical composition, antioxidant, antifungal, and anticancer activities of two major fractions from Z. bungeanum. The ethanolic crude extract of Z. bungeanum was fractionated into four subfractions. Flavonoids, tannins, and saponins were detected in the ethyl acetate (EAF) and acetone (AF) fractions. In vitro antioxidant assay identified AF as the most active fraction followed by EAF fraction. Antifungal activity was evaluated against Fusarium graminearum, with growth inhibition of 14% and 41% observed for AF and EAF extracts, respectively. Furthermore, EAF exhibited the lowest IC50 values of 189.67 and 76.62 µg mL-1 against HepG2 and Vero cells, respectively.