Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Euphorbia graminea L. (Euphorbiaceae) and Tetracera scandens L. (Dilleniaceae)

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been used for the treatment of pathogenic infections and protection against oxidative stress. These plants produce a wide range of bioactive chemicals, including defensive properties, that are required for their survival in their natural habitat. The antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Euphorbia graminea L. and Tetracera scandens L. were investigated in this study. The ability of methanol extracts of both plants to scavenge free radicals was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) chemical assay, total phenolic contents (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, and antimicrobial activities were determined using the agar well-diffusion method. Euphorbia graminea extracts had a low scavenging capacity, with an IC50 of 992.83 ± 0.44 µg/mL, while Tetracera scandens had a high scavenging ability, with an IC50 of 67.64 ± 0.66 µg/mL, compared to ascorbic acid, which had an IC50 of 11.41µg/mL. Total Phenolic Contents in E. graminea and T. scandens extracts ranged from 231.16±0.03 to 141.26 ± 0.02 mgGAE/g, respectively. Euphorbia graminea showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with a MIC of 6.25 mg/mL while T. scandens showed good antimicrobial activity against Candida albican with a MIC of 6.25 mg/mL. Extracts from the two plants had high to moderate antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Therefore, these two plants can serve as source of antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.