Evaluation of antimicrobial, thrombolytic and cytotoxic activities of ethanol flower extract of Bauhinia acuminata

Abstract

Background: To develop the herbal drug with the least side effects, there are superior opportunities to discover the medicinal and other biological properties. Natural products serve as sources of beneficial chemical molecules. For this study, Bauhinia acuminate (Family: Fabaceae) having some pharmacological activities was chosen. The present studies was designed for the antimicrobial, thrombolytic and cytotoxic activity of ethanolic flowers extract of Bauhinia acuminata. Methods: The antimicrobial effect of the extracts was evaluated by Disc-Diffusion Assay Method and the cytotoxic activity was determined by brine shrimp lethality test. The thrombolytic activities of the plant extracts were evaluated by a method using streptokinase as a reference standard. Results: The extract has mild antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, enteropathegenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio mimicus. The zone of inhibition of the extract was measured comparing with standard Tetracycline. Thrombolytic activity of flowers of Bauhinia acuminata showed mild (14.57%) clot lysis while the standard streptokinase showed (90%). Having moderate cytotoxic activities, the mortality rate of brine shrimp was observed in increasing order with the increasing of concentration of extract. In the present study of the ethanol extract LC50=3.251 µg/ml and LC90=286.57 µg/ml. However, Standard control LC50=0.0036 µg/ml and LC90=0.75 µg/ml were found respectively. Conclusions: Through the studies, it can be concluded that the ethanolic extract of Bauhinia acuminata could be used in drug formulation or pharmaceutical application. Hence, the plant may further be explored for its various pharmacological activities.