Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Aqueous Extract of Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) from Indonesia

Abstract

The clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is an aromatic herb that originates mainly from Central Asia and Africa. This herb has been used in many ways, especially in the medical field. Given its many therapeutic benefits, it would be interesting to identify the different phytochemicals of this plant. The primary objective of this work is to measure the various phenolic compounds in the aqueous extract of the plant and to identify them, using the HPLC technique. The study of the antioxidant activity in vitro of this extract as well as its antimicrobial activity have been carefully carried out. According to the results of the phytochemical analysis, this plant contained, more or less, significant amounts of phenolic compounds such as total phenols (176.02 mg), flavonoids (23.5 mg) and ortho-diphenols (740,14 mg). Moreover, some phenolic compounds, in particular flavonols, were present in smaller amounts, (2.09 x 10-3 mg). The presence of certain compounds was then confirmed by the HPLC technique. The results of the study of the antioxidant activity of clove extract (DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene test), showed values that ​​were high. As for the antibacterial activity tests, they showed remarkably high inhibition zones and sensitivity (diameter 18mm and 15mm diameter) for the Gram negative bacteria : Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia Coli. As regards for the gram-positive strain which is Staphylococcus aureus, it had a high sensitivity and an inhibition diameter of (19 mm).