Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of assorted Carica papaya leaves in Ghana
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Date
2016
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Journal of Medicinal Plants studies
Abstract
The bioactive compounds of the leaves of Carica papaya; solo and solomix were extracted using ethanol
and n-hexane, and investigated for the presence of secondary metabolites. Both ethanol and n-hexane
extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids. Flavonoids, glycosides and saponins were present in only the
ethanol extract whereas tannins were present in the n-hexane extract. The bioactivities of the leaf extracts
were attributed to their phytochemical constituents. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts were
determined against some human pathogenic bacteria and fungi such as Staphylococcus aureus,
Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans using the agar well
diffusion and broth dilution methods with the polar extract being more effective. The ethanol extract
demonstrated a significant broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gramnegative
bacteria, with the highest activity having a zone of inhibition of 10 mm. Antioxidant activity
was determined using the DPPH assay method and the absorbance measured using UV- visible
spectrophotometer with ascorbic acid as control. The antioxidant activities of solo and solomix showed
IC50 of 1.465x10-2 and 1.364x 10-2 respectively. This study demonstrates the efficacy of ethanolic leaf
extracts of C. Papaya as an alternative antibiotic for the development of newer antibacterial agents.
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This article is published by Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies.
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Citation
~ 193 ~ Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies 2016; 4(6): 193-198