Bioactivity and Phytochemical Studies of Seed Extracts of Anethum graveolens Linn.

Abstract

Infectious diseases cause enormous morbidity and mortality of the population worldwide every year. The increase in the rate of infectious diseases and bacteria attaining resistance to antibiotics and side effects of some synthetic antibiotics has led to an increased interest in medicinal plants as a better and natural alternative to synthetic drugs. Antibacterial activity of solvent extracts of Anethum graveolens L. was evaluated by agar cup diffusion and disc diffusion methods against some common pathogenic bacteria, namely, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella typhi, and Enterobacter aerogenes. The antioxidant capacity of different extracts of Anethum graveolens was estimated by diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), and hydrogen peroxide. Solvent extracts of A. graveolens recorded a good 18-19 mm inhibition zone activity with methanol extract. The MIC of A. graveolens methanol extract was recorded in the range 125-1667 µg/ ml for test pathogens. The IC50 values showed that methanol extract was nearly potent to butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) followed by ethyl acetate extracts in all the methods. Methanol extracts of A. graveolens possess a broad spectrum of activity against several human pathogenic and potent antioxidant properties. A natural substance obtained from plants that is a part of a daily diet, a nutritional supplement with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, constitutes a new source of herbal drugs.