Abstract

Rutin with several pharmacological properties has been reported to be an effective inhibitor for SARS-COV-2 viral protease. Due to lack of specific drugs available for treatment of covid infection, hunt is on for possible herbal supplements that will impact multiplication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and also provide immunity to people against such infections. We report a simple and cost-effective method for extraction of rutin from Moringa oleifera, a plant with high nutritive value due to its rich contents in minerals, vitamins and other essential phytochemicals. The solubility of rutin in water was achieved using rutin-arginine mixture (identified as a good water-soluble version of rutin) and tested for its antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli by MIC studies and compared with rutin solubilized in methanol. Our results demonstrate easy scale of the rutin extraction process and such a process could be applicable to extraction of rutin from other medicinal plants as well. We demonstrate that rutin purified through column chromatography has 20% higher solubility in water and maintains its anti-bacterial properties against Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli. Our findings reveal new possibilities of using resin column chromatography for concentrating rutin from plant extracts. Also, potential use of water soluble rutin is envisaged for development of nebulizers for treatment of asthma, hyperglycemia, and pneumonia, seen in COVID-19 affected patients.

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