Antimicrobial Efficacy and Phytochemical Analysis of Three Aquatic Plant Species in Bangladesh

Abstract

Aquatic plants are generally considered as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other harmful vectors of diseases. However, in recent years, some research has been carried out to test their significance as sources of antimicrobial lead molecules. The aim of this research was to study the phytochemical composition of local aquatic plant species and test their antimicrobial effect against selected bacterial strains. Three different aquatic plant samples were collected from a large water body near Dhaka. Ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the plant species: Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, and Spirodela polyrrhiza were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Lactobacillus spp. Out of the eight different extracts, only the ethyl acetate extracts prepared from Eichhornia crassipes showed significant anti-microbial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. In disk diffusion tests, zone of inhibitions of ethyl acetate extracts of Eichhornia crassipes leaves and stems were 8.00 ± 0.5 mm and 7.83 ± .29 mm respectively. In well diffusion tests, zone of inhibitions of ethyl acetate extracts of Eichhornia crassipes leaves and stems were 18.00 mm and 20.00 mm respectively. Zones of inhibition of ethyl acetate extracts of Eichhornia crassipes stems against Staphylococcus aureus were 7.67 ± 0.29 mm and 12.00 mm respectively in disk and well diffusion tests. Zone of inhibition of ethyl acetate extracts of Spirodela polyrrhiza was 8.17 ± 0.29 mm against Staphylococcus aureus in disk diffusion tests. No extracts showed any antimicrobial potential against Lactobacillus. Phytochemical composition analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, phenolics, tannins, glycosides, and cardiac glycosides in the different ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts. Tannins were absent in all extracts and saponins were absent in all ethyl acetate extracts.
 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 35 Number 1 June 2018, pp 7-11

Utilization of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as Fish Feed Ingredient

“…Water hyacinth (E. crassipes) contains many secondary metabolites. Hossain et.al [24] reported that the ethanol extract of water hyacinth leaves and stems contained alkaloids, saponins, steroidal compounds, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, and cardiac glycosides. In addition, Kiristos et.al [25] also found tannins and terpenoids in the ethanol extract and methanol extract of water hyacinth leaves.…”

“…With various secondary metabolite contents, water hyacinth has the potential to be used as antimicrobials that fight various disease-causing pathogens in shrimp and other pathogenic bacteria. Ethyl acetate extract of water hyacinth leaves and stems has been shown to inhibit growth of Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhi[24]. Water hyacinth leaf extract can inhibit the growth of Bacillus cereus (mtcc 6840), Streptococcus mutans (mtcc 497),…”

Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms: Uses, Challenges, Threats, and Prospects

“…The biomass of water hyacinth in Nigeria's aquatic environment has been estimated at between 28.8 and 32.2 tons of dry matter/hectare/year [ 25 ]. The ethanolic and methanolic extract of water hyacinth revealed the presence of the following compounds: alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, and glycosides [ 26 – 28 ]. Furthermore, an analysis of the dried biomass of water hyacinth by Sivasankari and Ravindran [ 29 ] is as reported in Table 1 .…”

“…Water hyacinth comprises the following elements: C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Zn, K, Ca, Fe, P, and S, with carbon and oxygen having the highest percentages, making it a good source of biofuel for feedstock [ 32 , 33 ]. Other major elements were calcium (Ca), potassium (K), and silicon (Si) [ 28 ]. In the leaves, potassium and calcium were the most common elements present, while potassium, calcium, and chlorine were present in the stems in increased quantities.…”

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SEAWEED (Sargassum muticm) AND FRESHWATER WEED (Spirodela polyrrhiza)

“…Water originated plants contain antimicrobial and phytochemical components like phenols, phycobiline, phenolic compounds, phlorotannins, acrylic acid, halo-genated ketones and alkanes, fatty acids,steroids, flavonoids, terpenoids, cyclic polysulphides, polysaccharide etc. (Abd El-Baky et al, 2008;Khan et al, 2014;Kavita et al, 2014;Hossain et al, 2018). Freshwater plants often are used for treating skin diseases and inflammation with potent antioxidant activity.…”