Phytochemical Analysis And Antibacterial Activity Of Lygodium Microphyllum Extract

Abstract

Lygodium microphyllum is a fern which has been used traditionally for controlling dysentery, treating swellings and skin diseases, curing hiccups as well as controlling high fever and typhoid fever. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antibacterial activities of five solvent fractions obtained from crude methanol extract of L. microphyllum leaves by liquid-liquid extraction of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water. Phytochemical analysis via Folin-Ciocalteu's method and aluminium chloride colorimetric method showed that ethyl acetate fraction obtained the highest total phenolic content of 11.59 ± 1.02 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g sample, whereas hexane fraction displayed the highest total flavonoid content of 60.27 ± 3.53 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/g sample. The results also revealed that other phytochemical compounds such as alkaloid, glycosides, flavonoids, quinones, saponin and steroid were found in hexane and ethyl acetate fractions, whilst tannins were found only in the ethyl acetate fraction. The antibacterial study assessed via in vitro antibacterial test using broth microdilution method showed that ethyl acetate and hexane fractions displayed potent antibacterial activity against all tested clinically resistant enteric bacteria, namely, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae as well as the control strain isolate Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of 6.25 mg/mL and 12.5 mg/mL respectively.