Characterization and Biological Activities of Non-polar and Polar Fractions of the Bark and Stem Extracts of Plumeria bicolor
摘要
Plumeria bicolor (P. bicolor), a small Central American tree species, is traditionally used for treating infections, inflammation, and digestive disorders. Pharmacological studies have confirmed their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and analgesic properties. The phytochemical composition of stem and bark extracts in various polar and non-polar solvents was determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). This study presented the first comprehensive report on the GC–MS analysis of sequential reflux extracts of stem and bark in P. bicolor, revealing the presence of triterpenoids (lupeol, α- and β-amyrin), phytosterols (γ-sitosterol, campesterol), and fatty acid derivatives as major constituents. To evaluate whether these phytochemicals contribute to the biological activity of P. bicolor, we next assessed the antimicrobial potential of different extracts against bacterial and fungal strains. The crude extracts of plant P. bicolor showed promising antimicrobial activities, viz. antibacterial and antifungal properties, by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). MIC values ranged from 50 µg/µL (against A. niger) to 1860 µg/µL (against B. subtilis), depending on the extract and microorganism. Notably, crude chloroform extract of stem consistently showed high activity against all antifungal strains A. niger, C. albicans, F. oxysporum, and P. chrysogenum showing inhibition zone ranging from 10 ± 0.374 to 30 ± 0.523 mm in 20–80 µL solution of extracts. Among these, A. niger displayed high sensitivity to all the crude extracts, demonstrating inhibition zone diameters ranging from 7 ± 0.152 to 30 ± 0.523 mm at a MIC of 20–80 µg/µL. Our findings highlight that P. bicolor stem and bark extracts are more effective against gram-negative strains (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) than gram-positive strains (S. aureus and B. subtilis), considering the microorganisms studied. Also, the black mold Aspergillus niger was found to be most susceptible to the crude chloroform and methanol fraction of bark and stem of P. bicolor.
Graphical Abstract