HPLC analysis and antibacterial activity of methanolic extract of Centella asiatica (L.) urban

Abstract

Objectives

Increasingly resistant antibiotics and new bacteria have fueled the demand for herbal remedies. Our current study aimed to find out whether the methanolic extract from Centella asiatica aerial parts contained asiatic acid and madecassoside, as well as their antibacterial properties.

Methods

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique was used to measure asiatic acid and madecassoside. We assessed the antibacterial activity of both compounds and crude aerial methanolic extract using the agar-well diffusion method.

Results

As identified through HPLC analysis, madecassoside was found to be 1.89 % and asiatic acid to be 0.35 %. C. asiatica had strong inhibitory activity against E. coli (MIC of 6.25 mg ml-1 and ZOI of 9 mm) and S. aureus (MIC of 3.12 mg ml-1 and ZOI of 8 mm). The ZOI for S. typhimurium, P. vulgaris, and B. subtilis was 7, 6, and 10 mm, respectively, and the MIC was 12.5 mg ml-1. Comparing asiatic acid to madecassoside, it has a potent antibacterial effect.

Conclusions

The methanolic crude extract and measured compounds of C. asiatica exhibit strong antibacterial activity, especially against S. typhimurium and E. coli. The asiatic acid and madecassoside identified by HPLC analysis could potentially be associated with this activity. These compounds exhibit antimicrobial activity can be found and employed as low-resistance, multi-target antibacterial drugs to treat a range of bacterial and fungal infections that have become resistant to existing antibiotics.