In Vitro Pharmacological Investigation of Cytotoxic, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Aqueous Fraction of Ficus Racemosa Leaves Extract

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of aqueous fraction of Ficus racemosa (Family: Moraceae) leaves extract. The powdered leaves of Ficus racemosa were extracted with methanol and then partitioned with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, DCM and aqueous consecutively. The aqueous fraction was used to evaluate cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The cytotoxic activity was measured by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The antimicrobial activity was assessed by disc diffusion method. Aqueous fraction showed cytotoxic activity with LC50 value 13μg/ml in brine shrimp lethality test. In antimicrobial activity investigation the aqueous fraction showed low to moderate antibacterial and antifungal activity against the tested organism compared to the ciprofloxacin (30μg/disc) that was used as positive control. The fraction contained 24.631 mg AAE/g of total phenolic content and 32.941mg AAE/g total flavonoid content. The results of study clearly indicate the presence of cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of aqueous extract. The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine and its further investigation.