Evaluation of the biological activities of leaf and bark extracts of Ficus platiphylla Delile, a medicinal plant used in Mali

Abstract

Leaves and barks of Ficus platiphylla are used in traditional medicine in western Africa for treating bacterial infections. The aim of this work was to screen the biological activities of extracts of the plant. Three common bacterial strains were used in this study. The antiradical and antibacterial activities were assessed respectively by spectrophotometric and agar diffusion methods. The bark and leaves are very rich in dry matter, ash and as well as proteins and carbohydrates. Ethyl acetate was the best solvent to extract polyphenols (4.77-5.01 g/100 g) and flavonoids (1.97-3.32 g/100 g). Similarly, ethyl acetate extracts showed the best anti-free radical activity with IC50 = 5.10 and 5.22 µg/ml for bark and leaves respectively. The aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts displayed the highest antibacterial activity on the Escherichia coli, with an inhibition diameter (ID) of 11.50 ± 0.50 mm. On Salmonella typhi, the most active antibacterial agents were found in leaf ethyl acetate extracts with ID = 15.33 ± 0.58 mm. These extracts have the same efficacy as the commercial antibiotic ciprofloxacin (positive control) which displayed an ID of 15.33 ± 0.76 mm. Finally, S. aureus was highly sensitive to ethyl acetate extracts of the barks: ID = 15.50 ± 1.32 mm (p-value = 4.10E-6 < 0.05). The richness in secondary metabolites associated with the antiradical and antibacterial activities justify use of F. platiphylla in traditional medicine. This study shows that F. platiphylla could be a valuable medicinal plant for the management of common bacterial infections. Key words: Ficus platiphylla extracts, phytochemical screening, antiradical activity, antibacterial activity.