A study on the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of the mucilage isolated from Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. (Malvaceae)

Abstract

The present study evaluates the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the mucilage of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, a plant of immense medicinal value in Chinese herbology. The mucilage was isolated from Hibiscus rosa-sinensis leaves using solvent precipitation method and the antioxidant activity was tested using different assays such as FRAP, DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide, nitric oxide, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. The mucilage gave positive results for all the assays but the radical scavenging ability was detected to be lower than those of the corresponding standards. The antibacterial assay carried out using agar well diffusion method revealed positive results against the gram positive Streptococcus pyogenes and gram negative Klebsiella pneumoniae.