Anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-mycobacterial activity of the methanolic extract of Dendrophthoe falcata leaves

Abstract

Emergence of virulent multidrug resistant strains of the tubercle bacilli has led to a serious search for new molecules for developing a new drug. Plants serve as resources for developing new scaffold of drugs. Dendropthoe falcata (DF), an arboreal, hemiparasitic plant is being used by indigenous medical practitioners for healing diseases such as asthma, psychic disorders, & tuberculosis. Here in this study we aim to determine the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antimycobacterial activity of Dendrophthoe falcata leaf extract. DPPH free radical scavenging activity of the extract through the absorbance measurements at 515 nm was done in a spectrophotometer. Disc diffusion method in the bacterial culture plates with discs of various concentrations ranging from 40mg/100μl, 60mg/100μl, and 80mg/100μl was used to assess the antibacterial activity. Antimycobacterial activity was assessed against H37RV, all sensitive MTB and MDR-TB. Luciferase reporter page (LRP) assay was done with concentrations 100 & 500 μg/ml of the plant extract with Rifampicin as assay control. IC50 of the DF extract and the control Quercetin determined were of 37.75 μg/ml and 7.79 μg/ml respectively. Antimicrobial activity was significantly greater in against the Bacillus subtilis, and E. coli. Test drug showed inhibition of H37RV and all sensitive M.tuberculosis and no inhibition with MDR tuberculosis. Dendropthoe falcata leaf extracts showed antioxidant, antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity. However further studies are required to elucidate the antimycobacterial compound present in the extract.