Antibacterial and antioxidant potentials of leave extracts of Helianthus annuus

Abstract

Helianthus annuus has been widely used for its medicinal and nutritional properties. This study was aimed at assessing the ethyl acetate, n-hexane and methanol extracts of Helianthus annuus for antibacterial and antioxidant potentials. The phytochemical screening, total phenols, DPPH radical scavenging assay and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity were carried out following standard procedures. Preliminary screening of the antibacterial activities of the extracts was carried out on five bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae), using the agar-diffusion method. Growth rate studies in presence of the extract was investigated on two bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis and E. coli). The methanol extract was observed to inhibit the growth of the five bacterial species while ethyl acetate and N-hexane extracts showed inhibition against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Extended lag periods of 5 - 6 h were observed when the Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli were grown in broth medium that contained the respective extracts. In broth medium with mixture of extract and ascorbic acid, there was no observed growth of the Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli throughout the 7 h incubation period. The total phenolics content of the extracts revealed concentrations of 6.66 ±0.45, 5.58 ±0.11 and 6.06±0.41 mg TAE.g-1) for the methanol, N-hexane and ethyl acetate extracts respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging assay results displayed gradual increase in percentage inhibition from the lowest to the highest concentration across all the standard groups, a similar trend was observed with the extracts, the ethyl acetate extract showed highest percentage inhibition amongst the other extracts. All the extracts showed high reducing power ability. The nitric oxide scavenging ability of the extracts showed constant increase with increase in concentration. Helianthus annus, it could be a good source of antimicrobial and antioxidant especially in a world where resistance to antibiotic has increasingly become a global concern.

Keywords

• antibacterial
• antioxidant
• growth inhibition
• helinathus annuus