Pharmacophore an International Research Journal
The bark and wood of sapwood, Dracontomelon dao (Anacardiaceae) are used in traditional medicine to treat several health problems including infections, inflammations, and tumors. This study was therefore conducted to provide some information on the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cellular metabolic activities of the ethanolic extract of the bark and wood of D. dao. The phytochemical components were assessed to evaluate whether the extract contains the presence of phytochemicals that are considered antioxidants. GCMS analysis was done to identify the compounds present and evaluate their functions through data mining. Antimicrobial activity evaluated using agar well diffusion method showed inhibition of the extract against the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria Salmonella typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and the two disease-causing species of fungi, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. The antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method showed strong antioxidant activity with an IC50 <<<<5 ppm comparable to the antioxidant activity of Vitamin C. Cytotoxic activity of the extract evaluated using trypan blue exclusion test showed low survival of normal human lymphocytes with only 20.3% live cells remaining after and being subjected to 1 mg/ml of the extract. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, and tannins which are known as antimicrobial and antioxidants. Identification of the bioactive compounds in the extract using GCMS revealed a total of 54 compounds. Twenty-one of these compounds have antimicrobial properties while 15 of these compounds have antioxidant properties based on published literature. Other compounds also suggest biological activities other than antimicrobial and antioxidant that also indicate potential biomedical applications. The information from the results in this study supports the traditional medicinal claims of D. dao have scientific bases.
