In vitro antioxidants, antimicrobials and biochemical response of methanol leaf extract of eucalyptus camaldulensis following sub-acute administration to rats

Abstract

Methanol leaf extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis was investigated for phytochemical compositions, antioxidants, antimicrobial and safety profile. The antibacterial study was carried out using agar well diffusion method, while antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2, 2′- diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. A total of fifteen rats were divided into three groups (5 rats each) and were given 0, 250 and 500 mg/kg bwt of the extract orally for 28 days. Results revealed that tannins (24.72±0.36 g) is the most abundant phytochemicals followed by phenols (6.01±0.89 mg/g) while alkaloid (0.19±0.67 mg/g) was the least. Extract demonstrated antioxidant activities with IC50 of the 244.98±5.24 µg/mL and 462.755 ± 6.98 µg/mL in DPPH and FRAP assays respectively. The extract inhibited the bacteria growth with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) values ranged between 7.5-60 μg mL–1 and 60-12 μg mL–1 respectively. The concentrations of albumins, bilirubins sodium, potassium, creatinine, serum transaminases and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were not significantly (p>0.05) altered by the extract. Urea concentration was significantly (p<0.05) higher while proteins were lower in rats treated with 500 mg/kg bw of the extract. Methanol extract of E. camaldulensis could be considered as a cheap source of effective and safe herbal remedy with potential candidate for the development of a new drug