Studies on In-vitro Bioactivity of Icacina trichantha Methanol Seed Extract

Abstract

Plants are new sources of antioxidative and antimicrobial agents, hence the need to determine and evaluate the antibacterial, antifungal properties and antioxidant activity of medicinal plants. The aim of this study was to investigate antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of methanol extract of Icacina trichantha. Oliv. (Icacinaceae) seed. In this research work, antioxidant study was done by using various in vitro methods such as: 1-Dipheny-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power, superoxide radical scavenging and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. Antimicrobial properties were determined using agar cup diffusion method on MRSA, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, C. krusei, S. dysenteriae, S. pyrogenes, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, C. albicans, and C. tropicalis. The extract of the studied plant exhibited pronounced antioxidant activities in the various antioxidant activity assay tested. Also, the extract had remarkable susceptibility effect on the tested microorganism with the exception of P. aeruginosa, S. typhi and C. tropicalis that were resistant. The findings indicate that the extract was found to be effective free radical quencher, a potent source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents, thus justifying its traditional use in green therapeutics.