Antimicrobial, antioxidant and toxicity studies of cassia species and the potential as anticandidal agent
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Date
2009
Authors
Sanduran Nehru, Sangetha
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Abstract
In this study three Cassia species were subjected to antimicrobial,
antioxidant and toxicity studies. Methanol extracts of the leaf, flower, stem and pod
of Cassia spectabilis, Cassia surattensis and Cassia fistula were screened for
antimicrobial activity by disc d!ffusion assay againstĀ· Gram-positive and negative bacteria, and fungi. It was found that the leaf extract of C. spectabilis
possessed a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial properties, hence this extract was
evaluated to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and further
detailed to anticandidal activity study. The MIC values against the Gram-positive
and Gram-negative bacteria ranged from 0.195 to 50 mg/mL for the extract. In the
anticandidal activity study, the leaf extract showed a favorable activity against
Candida albicans with MIC value of 6.25 mg/mL. The effect of the leaf extract on
growth profile of C. albicans was examined and results revealed that the extract
altered the normal growth of the yeast thus confirming the anticandidal effect on C.
albicans. The treated cells of C. albicans by the leaf extract revealed that the biofilm
formations have decreased. Imaging using SEM and TEM to determine the major
alteration on the microstructure of the outer and inner cells of C. albicans showed
distinct main abnormalities. Alterations in morphology and complete collapse of
yeast cells were observed after 36 hours of exposure to the leaf extract.
Phytochemical screening of the leaf extract of C. spectabilis by GC-MS analysis,
showed presence of acetic acid and diglyserol which were reported as antimicrobial
agents. Antioxidant activity of C. surattensis flower extract v1a DPPH assay
revealed a remarkable scavenging activity with RSA value of 93.54% and ICso value
of 423.3 J.!g/mL. In addition, the flower extract also possessed a higher phenolic
content 657.24 mg GAE/g extract compared with other parts of the plant. C.
surattensis extracts were further evaluated for the xanthine oxidase inhibitory assay.
Results showed that the flower extract of C. surattenisis exhibited a high inhibitory
activity of xanthine oxidase with value of 76.8% and IC5o value of 11.3 J.lg/mL. The
brine shrimp toxicity assay of C. spectabilis leaf extract showed no significant
.. toxicity with LCso value of 2.20 mgimL. Furthermore, the in vivo oral acute toxicity
study in mice also revealed that.the.leafextract showed no toxicity with LD5o value
. .greater than 2000 mg/kg body weight. There were no toxic signs or symptoms on
the treated mice compared with control. Histopathological examinations supported
this finding where there were no major alterations observed in the kidney, liver,
lungs and spleen. In conclusion, the obtained results suggested that the C. spectabilis
leaf extract as an excellent candidate to develop a new anticandidal agent from
nature. Additionally, C. surattensis flower may highly provide as a natural source of
antioxidant agent in future.
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Keywords
Cassia species , Anticandidal agent