Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Screening of Pistacia Khinjuk Plant Extract

Abstract

To investigate medicinal properties of Pistacia khinjuk plant, study was conducted to determine mechanisms of antioxidant and anti-bacterial activity of crude plant extracts. Phytochemical analysis was done of four different solvent extracts (n-Hexane, methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate) of P. khinjuk. Antioxidant and anti-bacterial activity were evaluated through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) assay method and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was performed to study nature of chemical bonds to determine types of constituents present in the plant. Solvent extracts were used in different concentrations from 20-160µl; ethyl acetate (100-160µl) and methanol (140-160µl) extracts displayed strong scavenging effect with decrease in absorbance under Ultra-violet (UV) spectroscopy. Interferogram from FTIR spectroscopy revealed chemical bonds which confirmed presence of bioactive compounds found through phytochemical analysis. Crude plant extracts exhibited effective anti-bacterial activity, compared to positive control ceftriaxone (zone of inhibition (ZI) = ≥21mm), against urinary tract pathogens (UTPs) Klebsiella(K.) pneumoniae and Pseudomonas(P.) aeruginosa (ZIs = 24-26mm). Extracts moderately inhibited growth of Staphylococcus(S.) aureus (ZI = 25-27mm) and presented no effect against Escherichia(E.) coli (ZI = 19, 22, 24). The overall results demonstrated that crude extracts of P. khinjuk plant contain flavonoids, phenolics and other compounds that show significant antioxidant and anti-bacterial activity even against multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens.