Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity of Oils Extracted from Some Medicinal Plants Grown in Suda

Abstract

This study was designed to reveal the constituents of the fixed oils (extracted by solvent extraction method) of some Sudanese medicinal plants by using GC-MS (gas chromatography mass spectrometry), and to assess their antibacterial , antifungal activity using Disc diffusion method. The chosen plants for this study were: gynandropis gynandra – capparaceae; hibiscus asper – malvaceae; Cucumis prophetarum – cucuribaceae; Citrullus lanatus sub sp. Lanatus cucurbitaceae; and Merremia (Ipomea) Dissecta. The GC-MS analysis of Gynandropis Gynandra oil revealed the presence of 17 components and the major constituents were : 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- methyl ester(19.78%); Linoleic acid ethyl ester (12.16%); 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, ethyl ester(11.88%) ; 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)- methyl ester(11.43%); and Oleic acid(11.35). At a concentration of 100mg/mL the oil was screened for antimicrobial activities using four stander bacterial strains to assess the antimicrobial activity against: Bacillus subtilis - Gram +ve bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus- Gram +ve ; Escherichia coli - Gram +ve bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa- Gram -ve bacteria, in addition the oil was screened for anticandidal activity but unfortunately the results indelicate that the fixed oil of cleome gynandra cleomaceae has no any activities against these microorganisms. The GC-MS analysis of Citrullus lanatus (wild) sub sp. Lanatus seed oil showed 20 components dominated by: 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z) - methyl ester (46.32%); Methyl stearate (18.39%); Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester(18.10%) and 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)- methyl ester(13.22%). At a concentration of 100mg/mL the oil was screened for previous antibacterial and antifungal where the results were shown a moderate antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and active response against Bacillus subtilis, but it shown no anticandidal activity. The GCMS analysis of Hibiscus asper oil revealed the presence of 16 components, where the major constituents were: 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester (41.34%); 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester (25.90%); Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (20.84%) and methyl stearate (6.67%). The oil showed moderate antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and active against Staphylococcus aureus and weak anticandidal activity. The GC-MS analysis of Merremia (Ipomea) Dissecta seed oil showed 20 components dominated by: 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester (32.78%); Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (23.04%); 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester(22.04%) and methyl stearate (13.12%).The oil showed moderate antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, but showed no anticandidal activity. The GC-MS analysis of Cucumis prophetarum revealed the presence of 9 components, and the major constituents were: Linoleic acid ethyl ester (54.25%); 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester (16.86%); gamma.-Sitosterol (8.14%); and n-Hexadecanoic acid (6.06%). The fixed oil did not show any activities against the previous microorganisms.