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Published on: December 5, 2020
In vitro antimicrobial activities and phytochemical profiling of Cananga odorata, Terminalia catappa, and Terminalia
Branly-Natalien Nguena-Dongue1, Ayodeji Amobonye2, Waleguele Christine Claire3
1Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Durban University of Technology, P O Box 1334, Durban, 4000, South Africa; Antimicrobial Agents Unit, Laboratory for Phytobiochemistry and Medicinal Plants Studies, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, PO Box 812, Cameroon.
Ethnomedicinal Relevance:
Cananga odorata, Terminalia catappa, and Terminalia mantaly are widely used in traditional medicine in Cameroon to treat several illnesses, like diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, genital candidiasis, and oral candidiasis.
Aim Of The Study:
This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial, antibiofilm activities and phytochemical profiling of extracts from three medicinal plants C. odorata, T. catappa, and T. mantaly from Cameroon.
Materials And Methods:
Crude ethanol, hydro-ethanol, and water extracts of the three selected Cameroonian medicinal plants were prepared and tested against 9 bacteria and 4 yeast strains in vitro. The most active extract was selected for further evaluation, including antibiofilm activities, time-kill kinetics, nucleic acid leakage, salt tolerance on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans, as well as antioxidant and cytotoxicity on Raw and Vero cells. Additionally, morphological cell disruption observations using scanning electron microscopy and GC-MS analysis were conducted.
Results:
Out of 36 extracts tested, 23 showed activities against bacteria and 12 against yeasts, with MIC values ranging from 62.5 μg/mL to 1000 μg/mL. The most effective extract was the ethanolic extract of T. mantaly stem bark (TMb EtOH), which demonstrated broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa (MIC 250 μg/mL) and C. albicans (MIC 62.5 μg/mL), through nucleotide leakage and salt tolerance tests. TMb EtOH also exhibited significant antioxidant activity (IC50 of 17.83 ± 1.25, 17.41 ± 1.24, and 27.66 ± 1.442 μg/mL on DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP, respectively) and low toxicity on Raw and Vero cells (CC50 of 168.55 ± 3.32 and 439.85 ± 16.47 μg/mL, respectively). Scanning electron micrographs confirmed the ability of TMb EtOH to interact, destabilise, and disrupt microbial cell walls, as evidenced by the multiple deflations, depressions and indentations. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis identified 37 compounds in the extract, with betulin (13.11 %) being the most predominant compound, well-known for its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.
Conclusion:
This study highlights the potential of the ethanolic extract of T. mantaly stem bark as a promising source of antimicrobial compounds. The bio-guided fractionation of TMb EtOH is ongoing to isolate and purify these compounds for drug discovery purposes.
