Phytochemical Screening, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Lepidium sativum Seeds Extract

Abstract

Plants play a significant role in drug discovery and development of pharmaceuticals process. In many countries, medicinal plants consider the main source of primary health care. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical screening, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Lepidium sativum seeds extracts and fractions. Methodology: Seeds of L. sativum were collected and extracted by maceration in methanol and the extract was fractionated using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and an aqueous solvent. Phytochemical screening of crude extract was performed using standard methods. The crude extracts and the fractions were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The radical scavenging (DPPH) was determined according to the standard methods. Results: The phytochemical screening result of the crude extract showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenols, glycosides and terpenoids. Antimicrobial activities results were showed variation in the inhibition zones from 8-20 mm; the best activity was in A. niger 20 mm at concentration 100 mg/mL of crude extract, however in S. Aureus 16 mm at the same concentration of ethyl acetate fraction. The results of free radical scavenging activity results obtained were higher at ethyl acetate fraction (76±0.02%), chloroform fraction (74±0.01%) and aqueous fraction (70±0.09%), while moderate at the crude extracts (46±0.07%) and low at hexane fraction (21±0.04%). Conclusion: It could be concluded that the crude extracts and fractions of L. sativum had high potential as an antibacterial and antioxidant agent, which can be used for medicinal purposes.