Investigation of Phytochemical, Physicochemical, Antioxidant and InVitro Antibacterial Activity of Salacia fruticosa Aerial Parts

Abstract

This study's goal was to investigate the phytochemical composition, physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant properties, and antibacterial effects of Salacia fruticosa aerial parts. Four extracts, namely aqueous, ethanolic, chloroform, and acetone, were assessed for their antioxidant potential through the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Additionally, their antibacterial activity against a range of bacterial species, including Staphylococcus lentus, Staphylococcus albus, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus lentus, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was determined using the agar disc diffusion method. Analysis of phytochemicals uncovered numerous active constituents, such as alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, phenols, triterpenoids, glycosides, proteins, amino acids, and saponins. Notably, the ethanolic extract exhibited the highest
antioxidant activity at 73.81% ± 1.21. Furthermore, the ethanolic extract displayed superior antibacterialactivity against all tested bacterial species with 15-29 mm inhibition zone and 62.5 µg/ml minimum inhibition concentration, followed by the aqueous, chloroform, and acetone extracts. In conclusion, the phytochemical analysis of Salacia fruticosa's ethanolic extract indicated the existence of different natural chemical components and demonstrated very impressive antioxidant and antibacterial properties.