Phytochemical screening and evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Solanum incanum: medicinal plant from Al-Baha Region

S.G. Mohammed¹², H. Maaroufi Dguimi¹*, S.H. Bashir¹³, S.A. Tammam⁴, H. Abdalgadir¹, S.M. Howladar⁵ and F.O. Alzahrani¹

¹Al-Baha University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia
²University of Khartoum, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany, Khartoum, Sudan
³Bahri University, Collage of applied and industrial Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Sudan
⁴Assiut University, Assiut, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany, Assiut, Egypt
⁵University of Jeddah, College of Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
*Correspondence: houda_maaroufi@yahoo.fr

Abstract:

Solanum incanum is a prominent medicinal plant, used to treat various ailments. The current study sought to assess the phytochemical profile, as well as the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, of the crude methanolic extract and the corresponding chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-hexane, and aqueous fractions of the leaves, stem bark, and fruits. Leaf and fruit extracts had the largest levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids referring to stem-bark. Hexadecanoic acid methyl ester is a major phytochemical component revealed in different plant parts, especially in stem-bark with 31.82% level. The 9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester is also revealed in all plant parts, especially in leaf with 20.07%. Fruit and leaf ethyl acetate and water fractions showed the highest antioxidant capacity compared to stem-bark fractions. Using the agar disc diffusion method, antimicrobial activity was evaluated in vitro against four different bacterial species and one fungal species (Candida albicana). The ethyl acetate, n-hexane, and chloroform fractions of fruits and leaves showed strong antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms. Aqueous fraction of different plant parts was inactive or partially active against tested microorganisms. The high total content of phenols, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids, especially in leaves and fruits, correlates positively with the highest antimicrobial and antioxidant activities detected in these parts of the plant.

Key words:

free radical scavenging, GC-MS Analysis, phenolic compounds, Solanaceae

Determination of manganese with Methylene Blue in various vegetable crops

H.P. Beck, D. Kostova and B. Zhang

Inst. Inorg. Anal. Chem. Radiochem.,Saarland Univ. Saarbrucken, D-66123, Germany

Abstract:

A study was made of the manganese content in the crop production of 28 vegetable species, using the most common cultivars within the species. The manganese content was determined by a new extraction – spectrophotometric method using Methylene Blue (MB). The ion – associate of Mn(VII) was completely removed in a single extraction of only 5 s, and the 1,2-dichloroethane layer remained constant for 2 days under the usual laboratory conditions. To compare results, manganese was determined by the atomic – absorption method. The results obtained showed that the manganese content varies significantly in the different vegetable species and cultivars. The manganese content in more widely used varieties of tomatoes, peppers, head cabbage, melons, and radishes was studied in order to establish differences with respect to the level of this element in their production.

Key words: