Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Activity of Euphorbia milii

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Chemistry of Natural Compounds Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Institute, National Research Center, El‑Behoos st, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt

2 Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Institute, National Research Center, El-Behoosst., Dokki-Cairo 12622, Egypt

3 Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819‑0395, Japan

Abstract

Antimicrobial activities of Euphorbia milii (Euphorbiaceae) extract and its sub-fractions against Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, unicellular yeast and two filamentous fungi were evaluated and the minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAf) exhibited the most significant antimicrobial activity against five tested pathogenic microbes. For the first time, liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis (LC-ESI-TOF-MS) of EAf was used to identify its chemical composition. LC-MS/MS analysis allowed the tentative identification of 22 compounds. Whereas quercitrin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol-3-glucuronide and naringenin were the major constituents. The chemical composition of unsaponified and saponified from n-hexane fraction was analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The oxygenated compounds represent the major constituent in both fractions (56.48 and 61.97%, respectively). Terpenes represented by 30.94% in unsaponified fraction while fatty acids and esters constituted by 18.91% in the saponified fraction. Quantification of the total phenolics and flavonoids of the methanolic extract and its successive fractions were determined. The highest percent of the total phenolic was observed for methanolic extract while total flavonoids were recorded for n-butanol and ethyl acetate.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Volume 66, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
Special Issue: Applied Chemistry for Greener Life and Sustainability
December 2023
Pages 461-473
  • Receive Date: 13 February 2023
  • Revise Date: 29 March 2023
  • Accept Date: 12 April 2023