Phytochemical Screening, GC-MS Analysis, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, and Anti- Inflammatory Studies of Medicinal Plant Persicaria glabra Growing in Bangladesh

<title>Abstract</title> <p> <italic>Persicaria glabra</italic> (Willd.) M.Gómez (Polygonaceae), commonly referred to as Lal Kukri, is an aquatic to semi-aquatic plant that is extensively used in traditional medicine. In this study, the phytochemical profile and biological activities of different solvent extracts of aerial and root part of <italic>P. glabra</italic> were evaluated. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, quinones, and steroids. GC-MS analysis identified 13 compounds in the aerial n-hexane extract, and 25 and 12 compounds in the root n-hexane and chloroform extracts, respectively, with (Z)-13-docosenamide, progesterone, and 1,3,5-tris(trimethylsiloxy)benzene as the primary constituents. The biological assays showed that extracts exhibited significant bioactivity, with the aerial chloroform extract having the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC ₅₀ =11.29 µg/mL) and the highest total phenolic content, and the root ethyl acetate extract having the highest root antioxidant activity (IC ₅₀ =16.90 µg/mL). Ethyl acetate root extract and aerial extract showed moderate cytotoxicity in brine shrimp lethality assay with LC ₅₀ values of 17.73 µg/mL and 34.77 µg/mL respectively. Furthermore, both parts of the plant showed strong <italic>in vitro</italic> anti-inflammatory activity similar to the standard drug diclofenac sodium. In general, <italic>P. glabra</italic> is a rich source of therapeutic phytochemicals with high antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory potential. </p>