Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF ETHANOLIC SOLANUM VIRGINIANUM FRUIT EXTRACT

*R. K. Bhaghawan, Dr. R. Manivannan, R. Rajamani, C. Sakthi, S. Santhapriyan, T. Vijay

Abstract

Oral diseases, particularly dental caries, are closely associated with cariogenic microorganisms such as Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Enterococcus faecalis. The increasing interest in medicinal plants as natural sources of bioactive compounds has encouraged the investigation of Solanum virginianum for its potential antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the phytochemical constituents, in-vitro antioxidant activity and antimicrobial potential of the ethanolic fruit extract of Solanum virginianum against selected oral pathogens associated with dental caries. The fruits of S. virginianum were collected, authenticated, shade-dried and powdered, followed by extraction using ethanol. Preliminary phytochemical screening was carried out, and in-vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by phosphomolybdate, superoxide radical scavenging and DPPH assays. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the agar well diffusion method, along with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and anti-biofilm activity. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, phenols, carbohydrates, saponins, flavonoids, proteins, steroids, tannins and glycosides, while quinones were absent. The total antioxidant activity of the extract was found to be 351 mg/g, while ascorbic acid showed 640 mg/g. The extract showed 54.02% superoxide radical scavenging activity at 20 μg/mL.

Keywords: Solanum virginianum, Ethanolic fruit extract, Phytochemical screening, Antioxidant activity, Antibacterial activity, Dental caries, Oral pathogens, Streptococcus mutans, Anti-biofilm activity