Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the acetone extracts of the leaves of Lagenaria siceraria and Cucurbita pepo

Abstract

This study assessed and compared antimicrobial, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content (TPC) of two commonly consumed vegetable leaves, i.e., bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo). The Kirby-Bauer disc Diffusion Assay was employed to investigate the antimicrobial effectiveness against bacterial strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as a fungal strain of Candida albicans. The results demonstrated that these vegetable leaves are abundant in phytochemical constituents, as indicated by the range of antioxidant activity (8.32 mg TE/g extract to 16.75 mg TE/g extract) and TPC (239.98 mg TAE/g extract to 458.16 mg TAE/g extract). Notably, the ripe leaves of L. siceraria exhibited the highest TPC and ABTS values among all the leaves investigated. The acetone extract of L. siceraria and C. pepo leaves showed good antimicrobial activity as evidenced by the Zone of Inhibition for E. coli and S. aureus compared to the standard antibiotics. These findings strongly suggest that the investigated plant extracts have the potential to serve as a valuable source for novel antimicrobial drugs. This research emphasizes the possibility of utilizing agricultural waste on a larger scale to obtain significant nutritional benefits without incurring additional costs and reducing the generation of biological waste.

Keywords

• Cucurbitaceae
• Antimicrobial activity
• Pathogenic microorganism
• Antioxidant
• Polyphenol