Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Activity of Iris kashmiriana and Iris ensata Extracts against Selected Microorganisms

Abstract

Infectious diseases are the second leading cause for worldwide death. Treatment of infections continues to be difficult in modern time because of the severe side effects of some drugs and the growing resistance to antibacterial agents. Over the past few decades the use of antibiotics is under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less effective against certain illnesses due to emergence of multi drug-resistant bacteria. In the present study the effects of 3 types of solvents, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol were investigated to determine the presence of various phytochemical constituent, total phenolic content, total flavonoids content and in vitro antimicrobial activity from rhizomes of Iris kashmiriana (Kashmir Iris) and Iris ensata (Japanese Iris), belong to family Iridaceae. The reason for selecting in vitro method was to minimize the usage of experimental animals. The antimicrobial activity of chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extract of rhizomes of Iris kashmiriana and Iris ensata were evaluated on bacterial strains of Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas auregenosa, Proteus vulgaris and Eschirichia coli and fungal strains of Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger by agar well diffusion method. The preliminary phytochemical studies and quantitative analysis of alkaloids, phenol and flavonoids were performed by well reported method. These extracts were further subjected to TLC (Thin layer chromatography analysis). The chemical contents of the Iris kashmiriana and Iris ensata were presented as total phenolic content and total flavonoids content. Phytochemical screening of the extract showed the presence of some common compounds like phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, carbohydrate etc. The antimicrobial potential of the plant extract was evaluated against different bacterial species which shows significant inhibitory action against all the tested bacterial and fungal strain. Methanolic extract was found to be more active than chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts. It reveals that the methanol soluble components of the plant are highly active against the above mentioned microorganism.
 Keywords: Iris kashmiriana, Iris ensata, Phytochemical constituent, Total phenolic content, Total flavonoids content, In vitro antimicrobial activity