EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIAL OF ZANTHOXYLUM ALATUM FRUIT AND LEAVES EXTRACTS AGAINST SELECTED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

Zanthoxylum alatum (Z. alatum), an important medicinal plant is used for various ailments including chest infection, cough, cholera, fever, stomach disorders, gas problems, indigestion, piles, toothache, gum problems, dyspepsia and stomachic worldwide. Keeping in view the medicinal potential of this plant, fruit and leaves methanolic (MeOH) extracts were prepared, evaluated for antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and for antibacterial potential by well diffusion and macrodilution methods in-vitro. Our results confirmed that Z. alatum fruit and leaves extracts have significant antioxidant activity with IC50 values 0.28 ± 0.07 mg/ml and 0.34 ± 0.05 mg/ml, respectively. The inhibitory trend at highest tested concentration (120 mg/ml) at 24 hr incubation in well diffusion method was recorded as 0.39, 0.30, 0.28, 0.27 and 0.18 cm against S. pyogenes, B. cereus, E. coli, S. aureus and S. enterica for leaf extract, respectively. In case of fruit extract inhibitory trend at highest tested concentration was observed as 0.33, 0.32, 0.31, 0.30 and 0.28 cm against S. aureus, S. enterica, S. pyogenes, B. cereus and E. coli, respectively. The fruit extract showed higher zones of inhibition than leaves extracts against all the test bacteria except S. pyogenes. Moreover, highest zones of inhibition were observed at lowest incubation (24 hr) and lowest zones were observed at highest incubation period (72 hr) for all tested concentrations. Macrodilution method showed antibacterial susceptibility in liquid medium with different levels of IC50 values ranging from 1.6±0.13 mg/ml to 10.3±0.7 5mg/ml. Interestingly, none of the tested bacteria showed resistance against any of the test extract in well diffusion or macrodilution method expressing the Z. alatum as potent candidates to kill bacteria in semisolid or in liquid medium to fulfill medical needs in future.