Abstract
This study evaluates the antimicrobial, antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of leaf and root extracts of Cephalaria gigantea . The results showed that the extracts inhibited both bacteria and fungi tested at MIC values which ranged from 3.1 to 12.5 mg/mL. The root water and leaf hydro-ethanol extracts had the highest content of phenolics exhibiting IC 50 values of 310.9 mg/g and 275.2 mg/g respectively. The leaf water extract possessed the highest amount of flavonoids with IC 50 value of 145.4 mg/g followed by root hydro-ethanol extract with IC 50 value of 53.4 mg/g. The leaf and root water extracts had the best DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC 50 values of 0.6 µg/mL and 2.8 µg/mL compared to gallic acid at 14.0 µg/mL. The leaf hydro-ethanol and root water extracts scavenged ABTS radical best. Also the leaf and root hydro-ethanol extract exhibited the best reducing power activity when compared to gallic acid. The root water and leaf ethanol extracts displayed the most potent inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase respectively. It can be concluded that C. gigantea extracts possessed antioxidant and antidiabetic potentials but has poor antimicrobial activities.
Highlights
The use of herbs as alternative medicine had continue to increase over the last two decades (Rosenbloom et al, 2011) and World Health Organization (WHO) asserted that about 80% of world’s population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health-care needs (Ajose, 2007)
The ethanol leaf extract showed the best inhibition against bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 1.6 to 3.1 mg/mL
The antimicrobial study on different extracts of C. gigantea showed that the root extracts of the plant does not possess antibacterial activity while only the ethanol extract exhibit antifungal activities
Summary
The use of herbs as alternative medicine had continue to increase over the last two decades (Rosenbloom et al, 2011) and World Health Organization (WHO) asserted that about 80% of world’s population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health-care needs (Ajose, 2007). Medicinal plants are used in treatment of many ailments because they are believed to have little or no adverse effects, unlike the synthetic drugs that may produce several side effects (Said et al, 2002). Cephalaria gigantea (Dipsacaceae) is native to southern Europe, western and central Asia as well as northern and southern Africa (Kayce and Kirmizigul, 2010) This perennial plant has stout, upright stems which are tall but airy and “see-through’’ arising from a rosette of divided leaves, and when in flower, the pretty pale butter-yellow scabious shape flowers can reach 180 cm (6 feet). C. gigantea is used in traditional medicine as sedative and antiinflammatory remedies (Tabatadze et al, 2007) They contain a great variety of compounds with pharmaceutical activity such as alkaloids, iridoids, flavonoids and triterpenoid saponins (Caliskan et al, 1994).
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