Chemical Composition, Free Radical Scavenging and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oil of Vahl

Abstract

Introduction: The study of medicinal plants in different parts of the world has led to major breakthroughs in drug chem. The increased interest in discovering drugs from natural source led to our investigation of the chem. compn., antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of Mariscus alternifolius Vahl, used in the treatment of wounds, bacterial and infectious diseases in ethno medicine. Methods: The plant essential oil was collected over hexane by Hydro distn. technique and Gas Chromatog.-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) was employed for anal. Antioxidant activity of the essential oil was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method while the antimicrobial screening was detd. by the agar well diffusion method. Results: GC-MS anal. revealed the presence of a total of 10 constituents representing 71.91% with tricosane (19.45%) as the most abundant constituent in the essential oil of the plant while others with relatively high percentages include z-14-nonacosene (13.37%) and octacosyltriflouroacetate (10.91%). The free radical scavenging activity of the essential oil gave percentage inhibition of 97.95% at 5 mg/mL which was comparable to that of the std. antioxidant ascorbic acid (97.88%) used for the assay. The essential oil inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus substilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger used in this study. The min. inhibitory concn. (MIC) of 25 mg/mL was obsd. for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Conclusion: In summary, the essential oil of M. alternifolius Vahl. possesses high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Implications: This study therefore provide some scientific basis for its utilization in ethno medicine. [on SciFinder(R)]