Investigation on total phenolic content, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of Helichrysum leucocephalum Boiss

Abstract

Because of undesirable side effects of synthetic antioxidants and antibiotics, there is considerable interest in the use of phytomedicines. For this purpose, the present study evaluated total phenolic content, antibacterial, and antioxidant effect of ethanolic extract of Helichrysum leucocephalum for the first time in the world. Ethanolic extract of H. leucocephalum was analyzed for its total phenols according Rutin standard. DPPH assay was used to discover its antioxidant properties. Based on disc diffusion, MIC, and MBC the antibacterial activity was studied at several concentrations on five bacteria as Gram-negative and Gram-positive. The results demonstrated high contents of total phenols (449.2 mg Rutin equivalent/g dry weight). IC50 value for free radical-scavenging capacity was 69.94±0.17 μg/mL. Evaluation the antibacterial activity indicated moderate activity against all the Gram-positive bacteria tested with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 125 to 250 mg/ml. None of the concentrations of the extract was effective against E. coli.