FREE-RADICAL SCAVENGING POTENTIALS AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF SENNA ALATA (L.) Roxb. (LEAF, FLOWER AND BARK)

FREE-RADICAL SCAVENGING POTENTIALS AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF SENNA ALATA (L.) Roxb. (LEAF, FLOWER AND BARK)

OLUREMI BAMIDELE OLUWATOBI1 , CHRISTOPHER OGBONNA IGBOKWE2٭, OLUSOLA

OLUKEMI ODEDARA1 , SUNDAY OLUFEMI MAKINDE2

  1. Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

 

Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 13(3): 210-222 (2021)

ABSTRACT

The rapid emergence of microbial resistance to antibiotics by infectious agents has been a continuous challenge calling for the development of an alternative therapeutic agent. This study aimed to evaluate the bioactivities and free-radical scavenging potentials of Senna alata (L.) Roxb. leaf, flower and bark, a promising plant source for novel antibiotics. Dried powdered sample of S. alata (L.) Roxb. parts were extracted separately to obtain crude methanol, ether, xylene, and water extracts. The antimicrobial effects were determined by agar-well diffusion method, against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. The antioxidant activity of each part was measured by 2, 2 diphenyl -1- picrihydrazyl, spectrophotometrically. The study showed that microorganisms were susceptible to both methanolic and aqueous extracts of Senna alata leaf, bark, and flower, although the aqueous extracts of the plant parts showed significantly lower activity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (in µg/mL) of the flower extracts for individual organisms, were 12.5 (B. subtilis), 12.5 (E. coli, S. aureus, S. typhi) and 25.0 (P. aeruginosa). The bark extracts revealed 12.5 (S. typhi, 25.0 (S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa) while the leaf extracts showed 6.25 (S. typhi), 25.0 (C. albicans), 25.0 (E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa) and 50.0 (B. subtilis). For the free-radical scavenging activity, the leaf extract revealed 58.10 + 0.3, bark 51.91 + 0.14 and flower 35.10 + 0.14 while the Ascorbic acid (control) measured 70.86 + 0.14. The results showed that S. alata has the potential as a source of broad-spectrum antimicrobial compounds which could serve as a lead to a new drug.

Email of correspondence: chrisigbokwe@gmail.com;

KEYWORDS: Antimicrobial; Antioxidant; Senna alata; Antimicrobial resistance; Microorganisms.