First Extraction of Onopordum Cyrenaicum Maire and Weiller and It's Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

Herbal medicines and their derivatives are best available from raw plant extracts. Onopordum cyrenaicum Maire & Weiller: medicinal plant endemic to Libya, Asteraceae species in Onopordum genus. The phytochemical profiling and antibacterial activity of this plant are investigated for the first time in this study. Slight modification of maceration technique was used to extract bioactive components step by step using 3 different solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol). We have performed the phytochemical analysis for the detection of various components, which were terpenoids, tannins, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids. Of note, the ethanol extract possessed the highest antibacterial action when compared to other extracts, yielding inhibition zones of 28 mm (S. aureus), 22 mm (MRSA), and 30 mm (S. epidermidis); while being 6.25, 50, and 3.75 mg/ml as the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) respectively.