Abstract
The current study aimed to screen the preliminary phytochemicals in the leaf extract of the medicinal plant Simarouba glauca and to analyze its potential antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer properties. The phytochemical profile of the methanol extract was analyzed, and bioactive compounds were identified using chromatography, FTIR and GCMS. Antimicrobial activity and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were determined against 14 bacterial and 6 fungal strains. Moreover, the synergistic effect of a plant extract with commercially available antibiotics was also evaluated using the checkerboard method. The ethanolic and methanolic extracts showed exclusive activity against S. aureus and profound activity against E. coli and S. marcescens. Upon comparing breakpoints, methanolic extract demonstrated higher antimicrobial activity with a MIC value of 3.2 mg/mL against the test pathogens. Furthermore, the extracts demonstrated potential antioxidant activity; methanol extract had higher antioxidant potential compared to the ethanol extract. The major proactive bioactive compound with maximum antioxidant capacity was observed to be terpenoids. The methanol extract of S. glauca showed significant cytotoxicity against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with an IC50 value of 16.12 µg/mL. The overall results of our work provide significant evidence for the usage of methanolic extract of S. glauca as an efficient ethnomedicinal agent and a potential candidate for relieving many human ailments.
Highlights
The dried powder was collected and stored in airtight bottles at 4 ◦ C until further analysis. Both ethanol and methanol extracts of S. glauca subjected to phytochemical screening showed the presence of predominant phytochemicals
Similar results were reported for the presence of phytochemicals in methanol extract of S. glauca by
The overall results of our study prove that the methanol extract of S. glauca has profound antibacterial activity on the multi-drug resistant strain Staphylococcus aureus
Summary
Cancer is one of the major causes of death globally, accounting for approximately. It is estimated that death could be increased by around 13 million by 2030 [1]. Breast cancer is considered a leading cause of death worldwide. An increased drug resistance pattern towards existing antibiotics by pathogens is a serious threat. The drug-resistant phenotypes further increase the risk of cancer prevalence and render the current therapies ineffective [2,3]. The 5-year survival rate of metastatic breast cancer patients is approximately 25%, suggesting the importance of targeted therapy for metastasis. The presence of antimicrobial compounds and natural antioxidants in plants that remove harmful free radicals is one of the major reasons for using plant extracts as a potential tool for treating drug-resistant pathogens and cancer
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