Antioxidants, antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential of Swertia chirata. Muhammad Atif Khan 1 , Muhammad Zia 2 , Muhammad Arfan 3 , Abdul Nazir 4 , Nighat Fatima 1 , Muhammad Naseer 5 , Shujaat Ali Khan 1 , Tariq Ismail 1 , Yasser MSA Alkahraman 1 , Ghulam Murtaza 6* , Abdul Mannan 1* 1 Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad (Abbottabad Campus 22060), Pakistan 2 Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan 3 Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 4 Department of Environmental Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan 5 Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan 6 Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad (Lahore Campus), Pakistan Abstract The current study was designed to evaluate the properties of various fractions of methanolic extract prepared from aerial parts of Swertia chirata. Five fractions, RA-78, RA-91, RA-112, RA-14 and RA-15 showed significantly high DPPH scavenging capacity. In finding out antimicrobial activities, different fractions have shown mild activities against Bordetella bronchiseptica and Micrococcus luteus, while all fractions showed significant results against Aspergillus fumigatus followed by Mucor species and five fractions were active against Aspergillus niger. In measurement of brine shrimp cytotoxic potential of different fractions, three fractions RA-12, RA-34 and RA-78 had shown the best cytotoxic results with zero LD 50 . In determining antileishmanial properties of different fractions, the best results were exhibited by fraction RA-78 and RA-112 with zero percent survival of Leishmania parasite. Various fractions of methanolic extract prepared from aerial parts of Swertia chirata promisingly possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, brine shrimp cytotoxic, and antileishmanial activities. Keywords: Swertia chirata, Phytochemical evaluation, DPPH free radical scavenging activity, Antimicrobial properties, Cytotoxicity assay, Antileishmanial activity. Accepted on June 5, 2018 Introduction Medicinal plants are as assumed as major source for active constituents which are used for development of drugs. There are about half million plants around the world, and most of their medicinal activities have not explored yet [1]. According to WHO, about 80% of world population relies on plant based conventional medicines especially for their primary health care need [2]. It was a common perception on the basis of tradition, that there is no harm in the uses of natural medicinal plants [3]. The medicinal plant Swertia chirata (Roxb.) Buch-Ham. ex C. B. Clarke belongs to the family gentianaceae. Its folk use names are Chirata, Chareta, and chirayta. It is being used in different remedies as antipyretic and anthelmintic [4] and in arthritis [5]. It is also used for gastrointestinal and urogenital tract disorders [4]. This plant is also being used traditionally for treatment of cancer [6]. The objectives of present study were to prepare crude methanolic extract and its different fractionations obtained from the aerial parts of Swertia chirata and evaluate their phytochemical, antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and antileishmanial potential. Materials and Methods Extract preparation and its fractionation Swertia chirata plant material was collected from Galyat region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and identified by the taxonomist and verified by comparing with available literature and herbarium specimens. The specimen was deposited in the herbarium and given the voucher number “PAC1009”. The aerial parts of the plant material were shade dried, crushed into fine powder. The powdered plant material (4.3 kg) was macerated in methanol (10 L) for 10 d. Methanolic extract was ISSN 0970-938X www.biomedres.info 2722 Biomedical Research 2018; 29 (13): 2722-2726 Biomed Res 2018 Volume 29 Issue 13