Phytochemical screening and the analysis of antibacterial activity in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat

Abstract

Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat is a plant of the family Asteraceae and native to Asia and northeastern Europe. It has many pharmacological and therapeutic properties including antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory humoral and cellular, and mononuclear phagocytic activities; therefore widely and effectively being used in the treatment of many diseases as a herbal medicine. Essentially, medicinal plants are known to have the ability to synthesize a wide range of chemical compounds and secondary metabolites; also the active biological functions and medicinal values of such plants is attributed to the presence of bioactive compounds. In the present study, Chrysanthemum leaves were analyzed for preliminary phytochemical studies to find the presence of phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, flavonoids, steroidal compounds, saponins, tannins, phenols and cardiac glycosides. The crude plant extract from two different extractions (ethanol and methanol) were collected and tested. Comparative analysis of the antimicrobial activity of the extracts was investigated against five bacterial strains namely: Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri. This test was done using agar disc diffusion method and as controls kanamycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and cefotoxin were used. The diameter of the clear zone of inhibition surrounding the disc was measured in millimeters. The results showed that the ethanolic extracts of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat contained the highest amounts of phytochemicals, while the methanolic extract contained a substantial amount. Antibacterial activity results showed that the highest amount inhibition was formed against B.cereus and then in S.aureus and S.flexneri. It can be concluded from the results that methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat may be considered as an antibacterial agent against B.cereus, S.aureus, S.flexneri and be used to source antibiotic substances.