Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Potential of Wild Leafy Vegetable Cayratia auriculata (Roxb.) Gamble Against Selected Enteric Pathogens http://www.doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v6i9.15

Abstract

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, combined with the negative effects of antibiotics on human health, necessitates the pursuit of plant-derived antimicrobial compounds. Wild leafy vegetables with ethnomedicinal uses can be investigated to reveal their efficacy for the discovery of novel nutraceuticals and herbal drugs. An underutilized leafy vegetable,Cayratia auriculata, is used against gastrointestinal disorders by the tribal communities inhabiting the Balasore district of Odisha. Therefore, the current study was designed to test the presence of phytochemicals in different leaf extracts of Cayratia auriculata, such as petroleum ether, methanol, and distilled water (aqueous), using the Soxhlet apparatus, and to screen its antibacterial activity using the agar well diffusion method as well as to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the broth dilution method. The results of the phytochemical screening showed that the plant metabolites were present abundantly in the methanol extract. The plant extracts in different test solvents were observed to have broadspectrum activity, thereby showing their efficacy against both gram positive (Staphylococcu 
aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, and Salmonella typhimurium). The methanolic extract of Cayratia auriculata showed maximum antimicrobial potential against Escherichia coli, with a larger zone of inhibition (17.11 0.09mm) and lower MIC value (6.25 mg/ml) as compared to the other two extracts against the four bacterial strains. Hence, further investigations could reveal that the leaf extracts of C. auriculata can be used as an effective natural antibacterial agent for the treatment of enteric diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery caused by those pathogenic bacteria.