Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Antibacterial Activity of White Wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba)

Abstract

Artemisia herba-alba Asso. (Wormwood) is a wild aromatic herb that is popular for its healing and medicinal effects and has been used in conventional as well as modern medicine. This research aimed at the extraction, identification, and quantification of phenolic compounds in the aerial parts of wormwood using Soxhlet extraction, as well as characterizing their antimicrobial and anitoxidant effects. The phenolic compounds were identified in different extracts by column chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and high performance liquid chromatography. Five different fractions, two from ethyl acetate extraction and three from ethanolic extraction were obtained and evaluated further. The antimicrobial activity of each fractions was evaluated against two Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram-negative microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) using the disc-diffusion assay and direct TLC bioautography assay. Fraction I inhibited B. cereus and P. vulgaris, Fraction II inhibited B. cereus and E. coli, Fraction III inhibited all, except for P. vulgaris, while Fractions IV and V did not exhibit strong antimicrobial effects. Their antioxidant capabilities were also measured by calculating their ability to scavenge the free radical using DPPH method and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Ethanolic fractions III and V demonstrated excellent antioxidant properties with IC50 values less than 15.0 μg/mL, while other fractions also had IC50 values less than 80.0 μg/mL. These antioxidant effects were highly associated with the number of phenolic hydroxyl group on the phenolics they contained. These extracts demonstrated antimicrobial effects, suggesting the different phenolic compounds in these extracts had specific inhibitory effects on the growth of each bacteria. The results of this study suggested that the A. herba-alba can be a source of phenolic compounds with natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties which can be used for potential pharmaceutical applications.

Antioxidants Isolated from Elaeagnus umbellata (Thunb.) Protect against Bacterial Infections and Diabetes in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rat Model

“…However, the problems associated with these antimicrobial drugs are their toxic effects and the resistance shown by microbes against these specific groups of antimicrobial agents. Therefore, these synthetic drugs have been replaced by naturally available plant products [ 22 , 40 ]. The current study was designed on the isolated compound (morin) by keeping in view the reported antibacterial action of E. umbellata plant extract [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Exploring Phytochemicals for Combating Antibiotic Resistance in Microbial Pathogens

“…This can be traced back to 1803 from the report on the isolation of morphine from Papaver somniferum ( Schmitz, 1985 ). Due to their effective applications as food supplements, herbal medicines, cosmetics as well as antibacterial activities, the phytochemicals have gained interest in the scientific community; and numerous phytochemicals have been validated for their antimicrobial potentials including against MDR strains ( Shriram et al, 2018 ; Anand et al, 2019 ; Yu et al, 2020 ; Mohammed et al, 2021 ). However, despite the reports on many phytochemicals, few have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) such as codeine, capsaicin, reserpine, paclitaxel, colchicine, to name a few ( Kongkham et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Out of the alternative and effective options against MDR pathogens, plants might hold the key in providing the enormous range of the chemotherapeutics in form of their secondary metabolites with an ability to tackle bacterial infections ( Anand et al, 2019 ; Anand et al, 2020 ). These secondary metabolites or phytochemicals include the members of alkaloids, flavonoids, quinones, coumerins and many more ( Mbaveng et al, 2015 ; Anand et al, 2019 ; Anand et al, 2020 ; Mohammed et al, 2021 ). The current review depicts the potential role of the plant secondary metabolites or phyto-antimicrobials against the antibiotic resistant pathogens.…”

Effect of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Supplementation on Probiotic Yoghurt: Physicochemical Properties, Microbial Content, and Sensory Attributes

“…Rosemary oil has traditionally and largely been used as a medicinal herb with number of properties such as antiinflammatory, analgesic, astringent, antimicrobial, anti-rheumatic, carminative, antifungal, and antioxidant properties [8]. Natural phenolic compounds that have been found in plants and vegetables may decrease the risk of some diseases because of their antioxidant and free-radical inhibition potentials imparted by the benzene ring and the hydroxyl group in their structures [9][10][11]. These phenolic compounds are the result of secondary metabolism in plants, and are often utilized with the intention of therapeutic activity due to their pharmacological features [8,9].…”