Biological Activities of Extracts Obtained From Natural Origin

Abstract

Background: Medicinal plants have been in use for curing ailments since hundreds of centuries. Extracts, both crude and purified are used in different forms and preparations to cure diseases. Various microorganisms have gained antibiotic resistance due to the overuse of drugs and widespread use of antibiotics. Aim: To determine the antibacterial, antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of Aloe vera medinensis, Azadirachta indica and Citrus aurantium. Methods: For this study, different parts of the selected medicinal plants were analyzed on various assays. These plants were collected from Gujranwala, Punjab and the extracts were prepared using the Cold maceration method in ethyl acetate and ethanol. The antibacterial activity was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis by disc diffusion method. The inhibitory zones were recorded in millimetres. The antiproliferative activity was assessed against HeLa cell lines using MTT assay. The absorbance was recorded at 570 nm. The antioxidant activity was assessed using Catalase and Superoxide dismutase assay. The absorbance was recorded at 240 nm for Catalase assay and 560 nm for Superoxide dismutase assay. Results: The results indicate that commercially available antibiotics have better zones of inhibition against tested microorganisms. The antiproliferative activity was significant for the extract of neem leaves in ethanol and citrus fruit seeds in ethyl acetate. Antioxidant activity was found to be higher through SOD assay as compared to Catalase assay for most extracts. It can be concluded that the microorganisms were found to be susceptible to most of the extracts. Only two of the extracts showed antiproliferative activity whereas reasonably good antioxidant activity is shown by all of the extracts. These plants can be explored for further in depth analysis in animal models.