Biological activities of Wiedemannia multifida (Linnaeus) Bentham and Wiedemannnia orientalis Fisch. & Mey.

Objective: To evaluate total phenolic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts of the Wiedemannia multifida (W. multifida) and Wiedemannnia orientalis (W. orientalis).

Methods: Phosmomolybdenum assay, DPPH radical scavenging activity and β-carotene-linoleate bleaching were used to evaluate the antioxidant capacity.

Results: The total phenolics were found to be (22.45±0.60) and (9.53±0.00) mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g in W. multifida and W. orientalis extracts, respectively. The predominant phenolic compounds identified by HPLC-DAD in the both extracts were rutin+ellagic acid and kaempferol. Total antioxidant capacity and DPPH radical scavenging activity of W. multifida were higher than W. orientalis. In β-carotene-linoleic acid system, both extracts exhibited strong inhibition against linoleic acid oxidation. Antimicrobial activity was assessed by the agar diffusion method against fifteen microorganisms. Both extracts exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity.

Conclusions: The present study suggests that methanolic extracts of W. multifida and W. orientalis could be a good source of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in foods, pharmaceuticals preparations.