Vitamins & Minerals

Antimicrobial Efficacies, Antioxidant Activity and Nutritional Potentials of Trachyspermum ammi

Abstract

Waseem Hassan, Hamsa Noreen, Shakila Rehman and Shehnaz Gul

Trachyspermum ammi (TA) is a traditional medicinal plant which can be considered as a source of natural antioxidants and can be used for a wide range of infectious diseases. Our objectives were to explore the biochemical efficacies of the aqueous and acetonic extract of TA with special emphasis on antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Nutritional profile and phytochemical screening were performed by standard methods. The agar well diffusion method was used to assess the antimicrobial activity against ten (10) clinical bacterial strains and five (5) fungal stains. The free radical scavenging activity of the acetonic extract was estimated spectrophotometrically by the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. In seeds of TA, the crude fat, crude fiber, vitamin C, moisture, ash contents, crude protein, TSS, total acidity, pH and total sugar were 4.6 ± 0.19%, 4.2 ± 0.1%, 13.5 ± 0.7%, 9.5 ± 0.19%, 11.5 ± 1.7%, 1.46 ± 0.2%, 1.1 ± 0.01%, 0.65 ± 0.01%, 5.75 ± 0.9% and 5.1 ± 0.9% respectively. TA tested positive for alkaloids, carbohydrates and sugar, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, protein and amino acid, gum and mucilage and tannins, while negative results were found for saponins. Antioxidant assessments by DPPH assay showed that acetonic extract of TA possess high radical-scavenging activity i.e., 71.0 ± 2.3%. Vitamin C was used as reference standard. Susceptibility testing of acetonic extract of TA revealed strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (zone of growth inhibition 13 mm), good activity against Salmonella typhi and Xanthomonas (with zone diameter of 12 mm), while TA was least active against Salmonella heidelberg (inhibition zone diameter of 5 mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Clostridium with 6 mm zone of inhibition. TA also exhibited maximum antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger (15 mm) and Entomola (11 mm). While least activity was observed against A. flavus and Alternaria alternata (inhibition zone diameter of 9 mm, each). Based on the experimental data, TA could be considered as a therapeutic agent to inhibit the free radical-mediated reactions in biological systems. However further molecular studies and mechanistic insights are needed.