Antimicrobial and Antioxidant activities of leaf extracts ofMirabilis viscosa Cav.

Abstract

Plants have been widely used in both medicine and cuisine for centuries. Due to their potent antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, they have gained attention as potential therapeutic agents. In this study, various solvents, including polar and non-polar solvents such as ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, ethanol, water, hexane and chloroform were used for extraction. The research focused on analysing bioactive compounds present in Mirabilis viscosa leaf extracts and evaluated their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the leaf extracts were assessed using the agar well diffusion method, along with standard antibiotics, against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as fungal species. Among the tested microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus exhibited the highest susceptibility, with inhibition zones measuring 18 ± 0.02 mm, 18 ± 0.01 mm, 16 ± 0.02 mm, and 16 ± 0.01 mm for chloroform, methanol, ethyl acetate, and acetone extracts, respectively. Candida albicans demonstrated sensitivity to ethanol extract whereas, Aspergillus niger also exhibited sensitivity to methanol extracts, showing an inhibition zone of 12 ± 0.51 mm. To determine antioxidant assays such as DPPH, FRAP, reducing potential, and phosphomolybdate assays were conducted. Among these, the phosphomolybdate assay in the methanol extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, measuring 63.98 ± 1.17 mg AAE/g. Further studies on the plant bioactive compounds could lead to their potential use in medicine. Recent findings highlight that M. viscosa leaves possess significant antibacterial and antioxidant properties, making them a promising resource for future medicinal applications.