Unveiling the Therapeutic Spectrum of <i>Annona reticulata</i> Linn.: Antibacterial, Insecticidal, and Antidiarrheal Insights

The focus of recent research has been on developing natural medicines. Natural substances of the Annona reticulata Linn. plant, which belongs to the Annonaceae family, have medicinal uses. The antibacterial, insecticidal, and antidiarrheal properties of Annona reticulata Linn. methanol and aqueous leaf fractions were assessed in this study along with phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis. Both extracts' antibacterial properties were evaluated at a dosage of 250 mg/mL using the disc diffusion method. While the zones of inhibition values for aqueous extract were lower than those for methanol extract, the zones of inhibition values for methanol leaf extract against specific gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains were almost equivalent to those obtained from the standard drug tetracycline hydrochloride. The methanol extract showed strong insecticidal potential against T. castaneum and P. americana, which was found to be even more effective than the standard permethrin solution. Additionally, the aqueous leaf extract showed good insecticidal activity; however, it was less effective than the methanolic extract. Castor oil-induced diarrhea test was utilized for assessment of antidiarrheal potentials; at dosages of 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight, methanol and aqueous fractions showed significant outcomes with notable onset of diarrhea and total quantity of feces values (p < 0.001). Both methanol and aqueous leaf fractions demonstrated percentage inhibition of diarrhea values of 44.19% and 41.86%, respectively, at a 400 mg/kg dosage. In the enteropooling test, the castor oil-induced intestinal volume was also significantly (p < 0.001) decreased by both methanol and aqueous extracts. Furthermore, intestinal transit was inhibited by aqueous and methanol extracts by 50.89% and 52.78%, respectively, at a 400 mg/kg dosage in GI motility tests. The outcomes significantly resembled those of the standard drug loperamide (5 mg/kg). Plant extracts were screened for certain phytochemicals using a preliminary phytochemical screening assay. GC-MS analysis was utilized for the determination of the chemical constituents that were responsible for achieving these activities.