Antimicrobial and antioxidant efficacy of various solvent extracts of seeds and fruits rind of Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz. is an ornamental plant like a shrub or small tree. In traditional Indian medicine C. pulcherrima is used in the treatment of tridosha, fever, ulcer, abortifacient, emmenagogue, asthma, tumors, vata and skin diseases.Aim of the study: In the present study, the antimicrobial and the antioxidant activities of seeds and fruits rind of Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz were investigated.Material and methods: Hexane, chloroform, acetone, methanol and water extracts of C. pulcherrima were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity by agar well diffusion method. DPPH• free radical scavenging activity, total phenolic, flavonoids and qualitative phytochemical analysis were also performed.Results: Among the different extracts, the methanol extract showed significant antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The MIC of the methanol extract of fruits rind showed narrow MIC range (1,250 - 78 μg/ml) against all the investigated microorganisms. The methanol extract of the fruitsrind showed good antioxidant activity (IC50 value 14 μg/ml) which is very near to the standard (ascorbic acid IC50 value 11.4 μg/ml).Conclusion: The obtained results suggested that the methanol extract of the seeds and fruits rind of C. pulcherrima possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties which can be used for the discovery of new bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals that address unmet therapeutic needs.

Author(s): Sumitra Chanda, Jigna Parekh, Yogesh Baravalia

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