Total phenolic content, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Scurrula ferruginea extracts

Abstract

Discovery of new therapeutic agents from nature, especially plants is one of the promising approaches for treatment of various diseases. In traditional medicine Scurrula ferruginea is applied to treat some disorders. To the best of our knowledge, there are no investigations on antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activities of S.ferruginea in Malaysia. The present study was conducted to determine total phenolic content, Fe2+ chelating activity, antioxidative and antimicrobial potential of flowers, leaves and stems of S.ferruginea extracts. Antioxidant capacity, and total phenolic content of extracts were evaluated using DPPH free radical scavenging and Folin-Ciocalteu assays. Antibacterial properties were evaluated by disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration methods. Results indicated the highest total phenolic content for stem extract (309.069). All S. ferruginea extracts exhibited antioxidant activity in a dose dependent manner. Stem extract showed capacity to scavenge free radicals and it was also found to chelate Fe2+ better than others. All extracts presented moderate inhibition ability against selected bacteria. The most significant values of MIC and MBC were belonged to the stem extract. These findings suggest that acetone extracts of S. ferruginea, particularly stem extract, are potentially sources of antioxidant compounds.