Antimicrobial, Anti-inflammatory, and Antioxidant Activities of the Wood of Myristica fragrans

ABSTRACT

The antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities of water and ethanolic extracts of Myristica fragrans wood were investigated. The extracts were tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9097, and Candida albicans ATCC 90028. Anti-inflammatory activities were assessed by measuring the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production (Griess assay) and the proinflammatory cytokines as Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) production (ELISA). Their cytotoxic activities against macrophages (RAW 264.7 cell line) were determined by the MTT assay. Antioxidant activity was performed using ABTS and DPPH scavenging assays. The ethanolic extract exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against S. pyogenes (MIC = 0.039 mg mL⁻¹). The extract decreased the levels of NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 in a concentration-dependent manner (IC₅₀ value of 35.78 ± 2.22, 14.03 ± 2.12, and 55.26 ± 4.50 µg mL⁻¹, respectively), and had moderate antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ value of 49.69 ± 2.02 µg mL⁻¹ and 19.76 ± 0.98 µg mL⁻¹ by ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively).

KEYWORDS:

• Myristica fragrans
• Cytokines
• Streptococcus pyogenes
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University for providing logistic support and encouragement to carry out this research. Also, we thank Dr. Bob Taylor for reviewing the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University [ทป.2-13/2562].