Investigation into the Phytochemical profile, Antioxidant and Antibacterial potentials of Combretum Molle and Acacia Mearnsii leaf parts

The use of herbal plants in recent years have increased tremendously owing to their user-friendliness, accessibility, and affordability. In this study, the plant species Combretum molle and Acacia mearnsii were phytochemical screened for the existence of active organic compounds, the content of total phenols, flavonoids and antioxidants using different solvents were investigated. The functional groups existing in the plants extracts were identified using FT-IR. The total phenol contents varied from 53.74 ± 5 – 97.29 ± 3 GAE mg/g and 53.74 ± 7 – 98.58 ± 2 GAE mg/g in the extraction powders for C. molle and A. mearnsii. In C. molle, the content of total flavonoids ranged from 76.90 ± 2 – 114.54 ± 0.18 QE mg/g, while 89.40 ± 3 – 105.45 ± 0.15 QE mg/g was found in A. mearnsii. The radical scavenging activities of the solvent extracts against DPPH and the controls revealed that acetone extract of C. molle displayed 99.64% DPPH inhibition, while A. mearnsii showed a maximum activity of 85.53% at 5 µg/ml. The antimicrobial activity of the two plant species was evaluated using diffusion disk and broth dilution methods. The activity by broth dilution of ethanol, methanol and acetone extracts of C. molle exhibited MIC values (39.06 and 78.13 mg/µL) against P. aeruginosa and E. coli strains respectively, while ethanol and chloroform extracts of A. mearnsii showed (39.06 and 78.13 mg/µL) against P. aeruginosa and E. faecalis respectively. Results from this study showed that the leave extracts constitute healthy supplements with antioxidant and antibacterial potentials that could be useful in traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous infectious ailments.