Pak J Pharm Sci. 2016 Mar;29(2):615-21.

Report - Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric characterization of Curcuma longa: Protection against pathogenic microbes and lipid peroxidation in rat's tissue homogenate.

Hassan W1, Gul S2, Rehman S2, Kanwal F3, Afridi MS3, Fazal H3, Shah Z2, Rahman A2, da Rocha JB3.

• 1Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan / Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, CEP, RS, Brazil.
• 2Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• 3Food Technology Center, PCSIR Labs Complex, Jamrud Road, Peshawar, Pakistan.

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the mineral content and antimicrobial activity of Curcuma Longa extracts and its essential oil. We also determined the lipid peroxidation inhibition activity of the ethanolic extract against sodium nitroprusside (SNP) induced thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) formation in rat's brain, kidney and liver homogenates.

Major constituents of essential oil identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GCMS) were beta-sesquiphellandrene (38.69%), alpha-curcumene (18.44%) and p-mentha-1,4 (8)-diene (16.29%). Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used for the quantitative estimation of Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni) and Manganese (Mn).

The extract showed highest Mg (49.4mg/l) concentration followed by Ca (35.42mg/l) and Fe (1.27mg/l).

Our data revealed that the ethanolic extract of Curcuma Longa at 1-10 mg/kg significantly inhibited TBARS production in all tested homogenates. Crude extracts and essential oil were tested against three gram positive bacteria i.e. Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus atrophoeus, Staphylococcus aureus, six gram negative bacteria i.e. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonias, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Erwinia carotovora, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and one fungal strain namely Candida albicans by disc diffusion assay.

Essential oil showed highest anti-microbial activity as compared to the crude extracts. The present study confirms the significant antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of the studied plant, which can be considered as a diet supplement for a variety of oxidative stress induced or infectious diseases.

PMID:

27087084