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. 2023 Dec 15;23(1):462.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-04308-x.

Antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the leaf and stem extracts of Carissa bispinosa used for dental health care

Wanda Shekwa  1 , Tsolanku Sidney Maliehe  1 , Peter Masoko  2
Affiliations

Antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the leaf and stem extracts of Carissa bispinosa used for dental health care

Wanda Shekwa et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Carissa bispinosa (L.) Desf. ex Brenan is one of the plants used traditionally to treat oral infections. However, there is limited data validating its therapeutic properties and photochemistry. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective efficacy of the leaf and stem extracts of C. bispinosa against oral infections.

Methods: The phenolic and tannin contents were measured using Folin-Ciocalteau method after extracting with different solvents. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the extracts were assessed using the microdilution method against fungal (Candida albicans and Candida glabrata) and bacterial (Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis) strains. The 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing power (FRP) models were utilised to assess the antioxidant potential of the extracts. Cytotoxicity of the leaf acetone extract was evaluated using the methylthiazol tetrazolium assay.

Results: The methanol leaf extract had the highest phenolic content (113.20 mg TAE/g), whereas hexane extract displayed the highest tannin composition of 22.98 mg GAE/g. The acetone stem extract had the highest phenolic content (338 mg TAE/g) and the stem extract yielded the highest total tannin content (49.87 mg GAE/g). The methanol leaf extract demonstrated the lowest MIC value (0.31 mg/mL), whereas the stem ethanol extract had the least MIC value of 0.31 mg/mL. The stem methanol extract had the best DPPH free radical scavenging activity (IC50, 72 µg/mL) whereas the stem ethanol extract displayed maximum FRP with absorbance of 1.916. The leaf acetone extract had minimum cytotoxicity with the lethal concentration (LC50) of 0.63 mg/mL.

Conclusions: The results obtained in this study validated the protective effect of C. bispinosa against oral infections.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity; Carissa Bispinosa; Cytotoxicity; Phytochemicals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The yields of the leaf and stem extracts of Carissa bispinosa obtained using different solvents
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chromatographic analysis of C. bispinosa methanol extracts. Total ion LC–MS/MS chromatograms of (A) the leaves and stem (B)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bioautograms of different Carissa bispinosa leaf and stem extracts against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Enterococcus faecalis developed in (benzene/ethanol/ammonium hydroxide 9:1:0.1), (chloroform/ethyl acetate/formic acid 5:4:2) and (ethyl acetate/methanol/water 10:1.35:1) mobile phases. Key: (H) hexane, (C) chloroform, (D) dichloromethane, (EA) ethyl acetate, (A) acetone, (E) ethanol, (M) methanol, (B) butanol and (W) water. The green markings represent the leaf extracts while the black represent those of the stem
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Bioautograms of different Carissa bispinosa leaf and stem extracts against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata developed in (benzene/ethanol/ammonium hydroxide 9:1:0.1), (chloroform/ethyl acetate/formic acid 5:4:2) and (ethyl acetate/methanol/water 10:1.35:1) mobile phases. Key: (H) hexane, (C) chloroform, (D) dichloromethane, (EA) ethyl acetate, (A) acetone, (E) ethanol, (M) methanol, (B) butanol and (W) water. The green markings represent the leaf extracts while the black represent those of the stem
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Ferric reducing power of the Carissa bispinosa leaf (left) and stem (right) extracts of Carissa bispinosa. The results are expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). Key: (*) significant difference, (ns) non-significant difference
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The 2D and 3D structures of the docked complexes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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