Biological activities of Asparagus racemosus.

Cytotoxic, antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibitory, antimicrobial activities of the crude ethanol extract of dry powdered roots of Asparagus racemosus (Liliaceae) were investigated. The LC(50) to brine shrimp was 2189.49 microg/ml; the EC(50) for DPPH radical scavenging was 381.91 microg/ml; the IC(50) for tyrosinase inhibition was 7.98 mg/ml. The extract was active at 5-20 mg/ml against various pathogenic microbial (16 species, 18 strains) using the agar dilution assay, with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 10-20 mg/ml for enteropathogens, the MIC between 5-20 mg/ml for dermatopathogens, and MIC = 10 mg/ml for a pneumonia causing bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae. TLC and HPLC finger printing showed the presence of steroids-terpenes, alkaloids and flavonoids.