Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Priya Narkar ¹, Savanta V. Raut ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Microbiology, Bhavan's College, Munshi Nagar Andheri [W], Mumbai-400058, IN

Abstract

Cymbopogon (lemongrass) is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, of which the type species is Cymbopogon citratus (a natural and soft tea Anxiolytic) native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania. It is a tall perennial grass. This study was aimed at evaluating the antimicrobial potential of Cymbopogon citratus and its Essential Oil, in a bid to identify potential natural sources for the synthesis of new drugs to address the growing antimicrobial resistance. Crude Methanolic extract of leaves of Cymbopogon citratus prepared from solvent showed varying levels of bactericidal activity; however both the crude extract and the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus exhibited most promising activity. MIC was carried out by Microdilution method, MIC of the crude methanolic extract was 1.015mg/ml while of lemongrass essential oil was 0.09% v/v. Activity guided fractionation was further carried out using various solvents in differing polarity for isolation of active compounds and AST. Ethyl acetate and Acetone fractions showed maximum inhibition than other fractions. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of the phytocompounds from Ethyl acetate fraction and characterized by U.V Spectrophotometer and LCMS. Anti - biofilm activity was studied, the activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes at concentrations for MBIC are - Lemongrass Essential oil - 0.01,0.01% (v/v), Ethyl acetate fraction - 3.9884,0.1992 mg/ml, Acetone fraction- 6.578,0.822 mg/ml. The activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes at concentrations for MBEC are - Lemongrass Essential oil -2.5, 0.625% (v/v), Ethyl acetate fraction - 255,255 mg/ml, Acetone fraction - 421,421mg/ml. Minimum biofilm metabolism inhibition concentration against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes found to be were - Lemongrass Essential oil - 0.63, 5% (v/v), Ethyl acetate fraction - 128, 64 mg/ml, Acetone fraction - 6.6, 13.00 mg/ml and Crude extract - 8.2, 4.00 mg/ml respectively. Biofilm Viability Assay was further carried out and Percent reduction for Streptococcus pyogenes was found to be more than Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Anti-biofilm activity was further confirmed by SEM analysis, showing total destruction of the biofilm on treatment. Other applications like antifungal, antidandruff, antiviral and antioxidant activity was further analysed and found to be effective.

Keywords

Ficus Cymbopogon citratus, Methanolic Extraction, AST, MIC, UV Spectrophotometer, LCMS, Anti-Biofilm Activity, Minimum Biofilm Metabolism Inhibition, Biofilm Viability Assay, SEM, Antifungal, Antidandruff, Antiviral and Antioxidant Activity.

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