PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDY, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF EUPHORBIA RESINIFERA L.

Abstract

The present study was aimed at detecting the phytochemicals and evaluating the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Euphorbia resinifera known for their medicinal properties in folk medicine. Phytochemical screening was carried out on the aerial part of Euphorbia resinifera. The assessment of antifungal activity was performed in terms of percentage of radial growth on solid medium (potatoes dextrose agar PDA) against Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium expansum. The antibacterial effect was studied by the agar direct contact method using Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli strains. Then, the antioxidant evaluation of the extracts of alkaloids, flavonoids and methanolic extract was performed by DPPH free radical scavenging and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) techniques. The phytochemical estimation revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and saponosides. These phytochemicals were isolated from the plant with yields of 0.7 %, 0.4 % and 0.35 %. HPTLC screening provided qualitatively the antioxidant effect of extracts under study. Furthermore, it was found that the methanolic, flavonoids and alkaloids extracts had a potent DPPH scavenging potency with IC50 values of 0.0086; 0.378 and 1.171 mg/mL, respectively. Finally, the results of antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract showed a pronounced antifungal activity against the tested strains. The percentage inhibition values were found to be in the range of 64.14 to 85.51 % against Aspergillus flavus and 60.33 to 92.28 % against Penicillium expansum. In contrast, the same extract inhibited only the growth of Escherichia coli bacteria. Further study is recommended to isolate and elucidate the active compounds and to evaluate in vivo their antioxidant and antimicrobial effect.