Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Characteristics of Volatile Components and Ethanolic Fruit Extract of Prosopis farcta (Bank & Soland.)

• Main Authors: Mohammad Ali Farboodniay Jahromi, Hamed Etemadfard, Zahra Zebarjad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2018-08-01
• Series: Trends in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Online Access: http://tips.sums.ac.ir/index.php/TiPS/article/view/185

<p>The present <em>investigation</em> was conducted to <em>study</em> the volatile composition of essential oil, the radical scavenging and antimicrobial characteristics of the ethanolic fruit extract of <em>Prosopis farcta</em> (Bank &amp; Soland.). The fruit essential oil was analyzed by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/Mass). Twenty seven compounds were identified which represents 97.3% of the total oil. Among the chemical components of the oil, the highest  percentage was recorded for 9,12-octadecadienoic acid ethyl ester (35.11%). Palmitic acid  (21.38%), cemberene A and nonanal (4.7%) and myristic acid (4.4%) were identified as the major constituents. <em>P. farcta</em> ethanolic fruit extract exhibited a high phenol content (61.55±0.07 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g of dry plant) while its total flavonoid content was found to be 17±0.08 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g of dry plant. Evaluation of antioxidant efficacy of ethanolic fruit extract was performed using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) and ABTS⁺ (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assays.<em> In </em>DPPH<em> </em><em>scavenging </em><em>assay, </em>IC₅₀ value of the ethanolic fruit extract of <em>P. farcta</em> was found to be 62.45±00 µg/mL. The extract also exhibited a significant ABTS⁺ free radical inhibition (IC₅₀, 53.24±0.03 µg/mL) while displayed a moderate reducing ability (IC₅₀ =121.43±0.57 µg/ml) in FRAP assay. Results of antimicrobial screening revealed the higher inhibitory effect of ethanolic fruit extract against the growth of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> and <em>Escherichia coli</em> both with MIC values of 16 µg/ml when compared to other tested bacteria. A significant anti-<em>candidial</em> activity was detected for <em>P. farcta</em> ethanolic fruit extract (MIC₅₀, 32 µg/mL) among the tested fungal species.</p>