Phytochemical profiling, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of aerial parts (stem bark and aerial roots) of Ficus benghalensis L.

Plants, being effective antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, continue to play a key role in the healthcare. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and the antimicrobial potential of polar (water, methanol and acetone) and non-polar (petroleum ether) extracts of stem bark and aerial root of F. benghalensis L. The total phenol, flavonoid and condensed tannin content exhibited high variation ranging from 75.84 ± 2.70 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g to 6.24 ± 2.34 mg GAE/g, 71.64 ± 03.71 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g to 09.14 ± 2.70 mg QE/g and 19.25 ± 0.58 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g to 2.03 ± 1.2 mg CE/g respectively. Radical scavenging activity (RSA) was quantified by 2,2-dyphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2, 2’-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay where % RSA ranged considerably. Antimicrobial activity was estimated by investigating zone of inhibition (ZOI) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli) bacteria and fungal strains (Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus oryzae). The diameter of ZOI ranged from 9.5 ± .88mm to 6.2 ± .88mm for different bacterial strains whereas from 9.2 ± 1.6mm to 6.2 ± .90mm for fungal strains. MIC values ranged between 50μg/μl to 0.024μg/μl against both bacterial and fungal strains. Methanolic extracts were further analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) for their phytochemical profile since they showed higher antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. This study supports the use of Ficus benghalensis L. in microbial infection therapy.