Antibacterial Activity and TLC-Densitometric Analysis of Secondary Metabolites in the Leaves of the Traditional Herb, Melastoma malabathricum L.

Abstract

Indonesia is rich in the biodiversity of medicinal plants used traditionally for healing several ailments. M. malabathricum is one of the traditional herbs still used in treating many diseases. A TLC-densitometric method was developed for determining secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds and their related compounds, M. malabathricum L. leaves from Riau province, Indonesia. This study investigated the secondary metabolites of M. malabathricum L. extract by spraying reagent: FeCl3, p-anisaldehyde, and cerium (IV) sulfate and followed by antibacterial assay through broth macro dilution method. Densitometric qualitative analysis of phenolic compounds and their related compounds was employed to examine peaks of the M. malabathricum L. extract through WINCATS software. After spraying with particular reagents, the three extracts showed various spots/bands with several colors and exhibited peaks in TLC densitogram profiles. Three extracts were tested as antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The result showed that ethyl acetate extract revealed excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli with MIC values of 3.125±0.6 mg/ml and 6.25±0.5 mg/ml, respectively. Owing to the presence of a wide variety of secondary metabolites, the leaf extract of M. malabathricum L. is expected to exhibit and helpful to develop as therapeutic agents.

Keywords

• Antibacterial activity
• Biodiversity
• Melastoma malabathricum L.
• TLC-densitometric
• Tradisonal herbs