Evaluation of antimalarial and antimicrobial activites of extract and fractions from Areca catechu

Abstract

Background: Infectious diseases are clinically evident diseases that results from the presence of pathogenic microbial agent in the body system. These include malaria, amoebiasis and other microbial ailments. Areca catechu (AC), commonly called betel nut is chewed regularly by at least 10% of the world population, imported by immigrant users wherever they settle, and is the fourth most widely used addictive substance. This plant is traditionally used to overcome varied ailments including worm disease condition, stomach-ache, jaundice and malaria like fevers. This study is an attempt to assess AC as antimicrobial and antimalarial plant. Therefore, crude extract and fractions from AC nuts were tested against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 and 11 strains of bacteria. Methods & Materials: Extract from AC nuts was obtained by Sohlet extraction using methanol as solvent. Fractions viz. hexane, chloroform, ethyacetate, butanol and water were obtained by partitioning methanol extract in water and different solvents in order of increased polarity. Antimalarial activity of extract and fractions from AC was performed through SYBR green method whilst antimicrobial activity was assessed through Disc Diffusion Assay (DDA). The antimicrobial potential was further confirmed quantitatively by determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of extract and fractions from AC. Results: Extract and fractions from AC showed remarkable antimalarial activity against P. falciparum, the most potent being butanol fraction with an IC50 of 18 μg/ml. Significant antimicrobial activity of methanol extract, ethylacetate, butanol and water fraction towards four bacterial strains viz. Staphylococcus Aureus 96 (SA96), Staphylococcus Aureus 2940 (SA2940), Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Mycobacterium smegmatis (MS) was recorded. The most potent being butanol fraction with DDA of 14 mm. The MIC values were 125, 250, 62.5 and 250 μg/ml for methanol extract, ethylacetate, butanol and water fractions towards SA96. Conclusion: AC demonstrated to possess antimalarial and broad antimicrobial activities which might be prospected as potential source for the development of new therapeutic agents.