Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of the Leaf and Stem Extracts of Combretum molle (R. Br. ex G. Don.) Engl. & Diels

Abstract

Medicinal plants offer reasonable and accessible alternatives to synthetic drugs and are often devoid of the adverse side effects, toxicity, and pathogenic resistance associated with synthetic medicine. Combretum molle has been utilized in African traditional medicinal practices and purportedly contains bioactive compounds with medicinally beneficial effects. This study investigated the hexane, chloroform, and methanol leaf and stem extracts for their antioxidant properties using the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays. The study additionally analyzed the methanol extracts for their antibacterial activity against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) bacteria using agar well diffusion. Relative to the scavenging activity of the ascorbic acid control (79.15 ± 0.63% at 15 µg/mL to 94.61 ± 0.12% at 240 µg/mL), the plant’s radical scavenging activities were exceptionally high in the methanolic leaf and stem extracts (p < 0.05), ranging from 94.58 ± 1.10% at 15 µg/mL to 99.22 ± 0.30% at 240 µg/mL and 91.57 ± 1.71% at 15 µg/mL to 99.60 ± 0.20% at 240 µg/mL, respectively, suggesting a strong capacity to donate hydrogen ions. High scavenging activities were additionally observed in the chloroform stem (78.68 ± 1.18% at 15 µg/mL to 98.14 ± 1.22% at 240 µg/mL) and hexane leaf (72.12 ± 4.38% at 15 µg/mL to 89.87 ± 1.50% at 240 µg/mL) extracts (p < 0.05). All extracts exhibited poor ferric-reducing abilities in relation to the gallic acid control (100 ± 0.00%) at all concentrations (p < 0.05). The leaf and stem extracts exhibited broad-spectrum antibiotic capabilities against both tested strains, with significant activity at higher concentrations (p < 0.05). Overall, both the leaf and stem extracts of C. molle exhibited similar antioxidant and antibacterial activities. These findings warrant further pharmacological research on C. molle for potential drug development.

Antibacterial activity and partial characterization of antibacterial agent from combretum glutinosum leaf extracts against microbes isolated from dental caries

“…The presence of phenolic hydroxyl groups having high protein binding affinity may halt microbial enzymes and simultaneously increase affinity to cytoplasmic membranes, thus increasing the antibacterial activity (Kurek-Górecka et al, 2013). Through the deactivation of enzyme activity, phenols result to cells enzymes pop off crash and also cell lysis (Parusnath et al, 2023). In the present study, the antibacterial activity observed from Combretum glatinusum leaf extracts might be attributed to the presence of this phytochemical.…”

Green Synthesis of Cocos nucifera-Based Nanomaterials and Mechanistic Basis of Their Antimicrobial Action

“…Furthermore, there is evidence that antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, fatty acids, tannins, terpenoids, and steroids are accountable for the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts [32,33]. Indeed, a variety of antioxidant metabolites, including flavonoids [19,34], terpenoids [19,35], and phenolic compounds [36], were reported in Cocos nucifera L. These compounds are well known to exert antimicrobial activity via a number of mechanisms, including bacterial or fungal membrane damage, inhibition of virulence factors (enzymes and toxins) and nucleic acid synthesis, leakage of cellular components, and inhibition and eradication of bacterial biofilm formation, among others [37][38][39][40].…”