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Journal of Applied Sciences

Year: 2019 | Volume: 19 | Issue: 3 | Page No.: 229-234
DOI: 10.3923/jas.2019.229.234
Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of Maytenus dhofarensis Growing in Oman
Afaf Mohd Weli , Rahma Salim Al-Burtamani, Maryam Sinan Al-Azzawi, Md. Sohail Akhtar and Sadri Abdullah Said

Abstract: Background and Objective: The emergence of resistance to the presently used anti-infective and anticancer agents by microbials and neoplasm raises an urgent need to search for new and more potent chemotherapeutics that will work in different mechanisms. Investigation reported in this document is a contribution to the global effort towards that goal. To investigate the antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of organic extracts of M. dhofarensis. Materials and Methods: Powdered stem bark of M. dhofarensis was macerated in ethanol to give crude extract that was Kupchan partitioned into hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and hydroalcoholic fractions. Antimicrobial activity was determined using disc diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Cytotoxic activity of the extracts was tested using brine shrimp test while that of pure compounds were assayed against Ovarian (MCAS) and breast (MDA MB231) cancer cell lines using Alamar blue assay. Pure compounds were isolated by chromatographic methods. Antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of each extract were evaluated using standard methods. Results: All extracts showed cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp larvae, hexane extract was the most active (LC50 = 5.15 μg mL–1). However, they showed only mild antimicrobial activity against tested micro-organisms. Furthermore, all extracts possessed radical scavenging activity against DPPH. The order of scavenging activity was hydroalcoholic>ethyl acetate>chloroform> hexane. The highest concentration of phenols was seen in the ethyl acetate (167.65 μg of gallic acid/mg of dried extract). The major metabolite isolated from hexane extract was identified as taraxerol. However, this compound showed weak in vitro cytotoxic activity against the tested cancer cell lines. Conclusion: Organic extracts from M. dhofarensis possess excellent cytotoxic activity and strong radical scavenging activity. A further investigation on this species to isolate the bioactive metabolites is worthwhile.

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How to cite this article
Afaf Mohd Weli, Rahma Salim Al-Burtamani, Maryam Sinan Al-Azzawi, Md. Sohail Akhtar and Sadri Abdullah Said, 2019. Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of Maytenus dhofarensis Growing in Oman. Journal of Applied Sciences, 19: 229-234.

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