Phytochemical Analysis and Assessment of Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of <i>Phytolacca dodecandra</i> L. Herit Leaf Extracts (Phytolaccaceae)

Abstract

From times immemorial, medicinal plants have been used to relieve and cure human diseases. Currently, the control of bacterial infections is becoming complex due to the concern of antibiotic resistance, which has been a significant global health problem. The aim of this work was to determine the phytochemical composition as well as to assess the bioactivities of <i>Phytolacca dodecandra</i> leaf extracts. The leaves of <i>P. dodecandra</i> were collected in January 2017 at Yakoma city, Nord-Ubangi, DRC. Three bacterial strains namely <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 25923, <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 8739 and <i>Pseudomonas aeroginosa</i> ATCC 9027 were used for the assessment of the antibacterial activity. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening were used for compound identification. The antioxidant activity was assessed using ABTS and DPPH scavenging tests while the antibacterial activity was performed using the diffusion method. The findings show that leaves of this plant are rich in flavonoids, anthocyanins, terpenoids and irrioids. The inhibitory concentration 50 (IC₅₀) values obtained in the ATBS test are lower than those of the DPPH test. The antibacterial activity of this plant was low against the three strains used. These <i>in vitro</i> findings show that medicinal plants have very important biological properties that have many applications in various fields such as medicine, pharmacy and agriculture.