Phytochemical Screening and the Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Medicinal Plants of Meru Betiri National Park – Indonesia

ABSTRACT

The Meru Betiri National Park in Indonesia is host to more than 266 medicinal plants species, of which 10 were investigated for their phytochemicals as well as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. A majority of the tested plant species contained polyphenols. The crude leaf extracts of Dioscorea esculenta possessed the highest antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ of 26.8 µg mL⁻¹. Escherichia coli was sensitive to Bryophyllum pinnatum and Hibiscus tilliaceus leaf extracts with similar minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 250 µg mL⁻¹. Klebsiella pneumoniae was sensitive to Moringa oleifera leaf extract with MIC of 125 µg mL⁻¹. Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive to leaf extracts of Hibiscus tilliaceus with MIC of 62.5 µg mL⁻¹, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was sensitive to Lunasia amara leaf extract with MIC of 125 µg mL⁻¹. Autobiographic TLC confirmed the presence of anti-microbial constituents in L. amara leaf extract.

KEYWORDS:

• Indonesian medicinal plants
• minimum inhibition concentration

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the help offered by Mr. Budi and Mr. Beni during the legal administration and sample collection. The authors also thank the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember and Meru Betiri National Park for approving this research project. P.W appreciates the financial and administrative supports provided by Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Australia.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.S.N.; methodology, A.S.N., D.K.P., B.T., D.D., V.A.R., I.N., I.P.D., I.P.S.; investigation, A.S.N., A.E.N.P., C.P.K., D.K.P., B.T., D.D., V.A.R., I.N., I.P.D., I.P.S.; data curation, A.E.N.P., C.P.K.; resources, A.S.N., D.K.P., B.T., D.D., V.A.R., I.N., I.P.D., I.P.S.; formal analysis and data interpretation, A.S.N., D.K.P., P.W; original draft preparation, A.S.N., D.K.P., B.T., P.W.; review and editing, A.S.N., P.W.

Declarations of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.