Evaluation of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities from Toona ciliata Roemer

Background: In the present study, the different solvent extracts viz., petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol of the medicinal plant Toona ciliata (leaf and flower) were evaluated for phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methods: A qualitative phytochemical study was conducted to know the presence or absence of phytoconstituents in the test extracts. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were determined using disc diffusion assay against human and phytopathogens. MIC was carried out using Micro-broth dilution method for pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Radical scavenging activity was also studied using DPPH and ABTS method. Results: The study revealed the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, phytosterols, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins and phenolic compounds. Ethyl acetate and methanol extracts showed moderate activity against test phytopathogenic bacteria compared to tetracycline. Moderate activity was found against Proteus mirabilis and least activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus with ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. Ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Toona ciliata exhibited lowest MIC varied from 10-2.5 mgml-1 against test human pathogenic and phytopathogenic bacteria Significant antifungal activity against Microsporum canis was observed in methanol extract with an MIC of 1.25 mgml-1 compared to miconozole. All the test extracts showed significant DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity in comparison with BHT. Conclusions: The present study concludes that the plant Toona ciliata could be exploited for the isolation of bioactive compounds which could be a potential source for antimicrobials and antioxidants. © 2013, Kavitha and Satish; licensee Springer.