Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Bacterial Properties of 1-Octacosanol Isolated from Rice Bran Wax

Octacosanol, a primary alcohol, was isolated from rice bran wax and characterized by GCMS and XRD techniques, which confirmed the identity and purity of the isolated octacosanol. Five different concentrations of the compound ranging from 0.01 mg/ml, 0.05 mg/ml, 0.1 mg/ml, 0.5 mg/ml to 1.0 mg/ml were prepared in isopropanol. The antioxidant activities of octacosanol were studied at these concentrations for four in vitro assay systems including DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing activity, metal chelation activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Maximum antioxidant potency was displayed at 1.0 mg/ml for all the assays except the metal-chelation assay which demonstrated highest activity at 0.5 mg/ml. Octacosanol also showed anti-bacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis as observed by disc assay against concentrations of 1 mg/ml and 2 mg/ml. At 2 mg/ml, octacosanol was observed to inhibit microbial activity by gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.