Abstract
Traditional folks in different parts of the world use Rumex crispus L. for the treatment of microbial infections, malaria, and sleeping sickness in the form of decoction or tincture. In the search for a natural alternative remedy, this study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial, antitrypanosomal, and antiplasmodial efficacy and the toxicity of R. crispus extracts. Antimicrobial potency of the extracts was evaluated using the agar dilution method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The antitrypanosomal activity of the extracts was evaluated with the Trypanosoma brucei brucei model while the antimalaria potency was tested using Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain. Toxicity was then tested with brine shrimp assay and cytotoxicity (HeLa cells). The acetone extract of the root (RT-ACE) reveals the highest antimicrobial potency with the lowest MIC value of <1.562 mg/mL for all bacteria strains and also showed high potent against fungi. RT-ACE (IC50: 13 μg/mL) and methanol extract of the leaf (LF-MEE; IC50: 15 μg/mL) show a strong inhibition of P. falciparum. The ethanol extract of the root (RT-ETE: IC50: 9.7 μg/mL) reveals the highest inhibition of T.b. brucei parasite. RT-ETE and RT-ACE were found to have the highest toxicity in brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA) and cytotoxicity which correlates in the two assays. This research revealed Rumex crispus has potency against microorganisms, Trypanosoma, and Plasmodium and could be a potential source for the treatment of these diseases.
Highlights
Medicinal plants have been used for ages in several ways for antimicrobial, hypoglycemic, antihelminthic, antiulcerogenic, hepatoprotective, antipyretic, analgesic, insecticidal, piscicide, pesticide, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic purposes [1]. e biological activities and efficacy of medicinal plants have been tested in traditional medicine and in several fields of science [2]. eir potency and curative potentials were documented independently across the globe suggesting that plants could be a potential source of novel drugs [2,3,4]. ere has been a rapid increase in the use of medicinal plants as a curative prototype, and new products are emanating from these natural products into the commercial market daily. ese products are believed by the consumers to be safer and effective than the chemotherapeutic conventional drugs [4, 5]
Antimicrobial Activity of Plant Extracts. e antibacterial and antifungal potency of the extracts is given in Tables 2 and 3. e result shows that all extracts of R. crispus have a varying degree of antimicrobial activities with a variation in the level of potency
Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of Plant Extracts. e bactericidal properties of R. crispus was conducted using a graded concentration of the plant extracts, to find the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts against predispose bacterial strains (Gramnegative: K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and V. cholera; Gram-positive: B. subtilis, S. aureus, S. pyogenes, and B. cereus). e concentration effect of the plant extracts and standard drug is reported in Table 2. e minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was confirmed by the absence of the growth of tested bacterial strains on the surface of the agar which shows the potential bactericidal activity of the plant’s extracts against the tested bacteria
Summary
Medicinal plants have been used for ages in several ways for antimicrobial, hypoglycemic, antihelminthic, antiulcerogenic, hepatoprotective, antipyretic, analgesic, insecticidal, piscicide, pesticide, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic purposes [1]. e biological activities and efficacy of medicinal plants have been tested in traditional medicine and in several fields of science [2]. eir potency and curative potentials were documented independently across the globe suggesting that plants could be a potential source of novel drugs [2,3,4]. ere has been a rapid increase in the use of medicinal plants as a curative prototype, and new products are emanating from these natural products into the commercial market daily. ese products are believed by the consumers to be safer and effective than the chemotherapeutic conventional drugs [4, 5]. Ere has been a rapid increase in the use of medicinal plants as a curative prototype, and new products are emanating from these natural products into the commercial market daily. It was estimated that about 61% of newly developed drugs between 1981 and 2002 have their source from plants and are successful in the treatment of cancer and several other diseases [2, 6]. Many medicinal plants have been screened for antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, and antitrypanosomal activities, and some of these plants showed prospect in the treatment of these infections [3, 7, 8]. Ere have been reports of multiple drug resistance (MDR) in the human pathogenic microbial organisms due to indiscriminate use of commercially available drugs [4]. E capacity of diseases to drug resistance is the clinical determinants of the pathogenesis of a particular pathogen.
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