Abstract
Purpose: Reactive oxygen species and the free radicals are implicated in many medical disorders as well as in the process of aging. Due to the toxicity of synthetic drugs there is much interest in natural products that could combat diseases. Furthermore side effects and resistance to antibiotics are well documented and as such there is much interest in herbal remedies that have antimicrobial activity. The objective of this research is to investigate the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of the extracts of the seed and peel of Spondias dulcis (Amberalla) fruit. Method: The percentage radical scavenging activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The reducing potential of the extracts were determined using Ferric ion reducing assay. The total phenol and total flavonoid contents were obtained from calibrations plots of Gallic acid and Quercetine respectively. The antibacterial assays against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. were carried out using Agar well method. Results: The antioxidant activity, total flavonoid and phenolic contents of the ethyl acetate, hexane and dichloromethane extracts of the Sri Lankan variety of Spondias dulcis was investigated. Of all extracts the highest activity was shown by the peel extracts of the S.dulcis fruit. The dichloromethane extract of the peel of the fruit showed the maximum activity in DPPH radical scavenging assay (93.40±0.02%) followed by the hexane extract of the peel (91.10±0.01%) compared to butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) (74.26±0.01%) at the same concentration(127.5 μg ml-1). In the Fe3+ reducing power assay the dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of the peel gave values of 0.35±0.12% and 0.30±0.05% respectively compared to BHT (0.71±0.04%) at the same concentration(3.33 μg ml-1).The highest phenolic content was found in the ethyl acetate extracts of peel (463.68±0.02 mg (GAE/g). The maximum flavonoid content was seen in the hexane extract of the peel (1133.77±0.01mg (QE/g). However, the antibacterial assay of the peel and the seed extracts did not show a significant activity against the bacterial species; Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Conclusion: Our results show that the non-utilized parts of the S. dulcis fruit contains high amount of antioxidant properties and may have the ability to reduce the risk of oxidative stress and defense against degenerative diseases.
Highlights
It is increasingly evident that oxidative stress and the presence of free radicals is the major cause for many diseases.(1) Oxidative byproducts cause extensive damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids which is a major cause to aging and diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, immune system decline, brain dysfunction and cataracts.(2) Antioxidants such as ascorbate, tacopherol and carotenoids defenses against this damage.(1) Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables doubles the risk of heart diseases, cancers and cataracts compared to high intake
In addition to this multiple drug resistance resulting from the chaotic application of commercial antimicrobial drugs, adverse effects such as hypersensivity, allergic reaction, immune suppression abdominal pain, anorexia etc has driven the scientists to explore new and effective antimicrobial agents that could act as an alternative of the current regimens.(4) the global interest in the study of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of various plants and there fruits have increased rapidly.(5)
Our results indicate that the dichloromethane extract of the peel of S. dulcis fruit shows the highest activity with respect to radical scavenging activity and the reducing power
Summary
It is increasingly evident that oxidative stress and the presence of free radicals is the major cause for many diseases.(1) Oxidative byproducts cause extensive damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids which is a major cause to aging and diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, immune system decline, brain dysfunction and cataracts.(2) Antioxidants such as ascorbate, tacopherol and carotenoids defenses against this damage.(1) Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables doubles the risk of heart diseases, cancers and cataracts compared to high intake. Despite the advances in modern medicine, plant based remedies are increasingly popular due to side effects of synthetic counterparts.3In recent years multiple drug resistance in human pathogenic microbes has increased due to the indiscriminate use of synthetic antimicrobial drugs. In addition to this multiple drug resistance resulting from the chaotic application of commercial antimicrobial drugs, adverse effects such as hypersensivity, allergic reaction, immune suppression abdominal pain, anorexia etc has driven the scientists to explore new and effective antimicrobial agents that could act as an alternative of the current regimens.(4) the global interest in the study of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of various plants and there fruits have increased rapidly.(5). The polysaccharides identified from the fruit pulp have electrical activity on peritoneal macrophages and the leaves of the plant show anti diabetic activity.(4)
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