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Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiviral activities of Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb flowers growing in Tunisia

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Abstract

Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiviral activities of flower extracts of Retama raetam Forssk. Webb (Fabaceae) were screened both from standard and isolated Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by solid medium technique. Oxacillin, Amoxicillin, Ticarcillin, Cefotaxim, and Amphotericin were used as the control agents. The antiviral activity was evaluated against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strain AD-169 (ATCC Ref. VR 538) and coxsackie B virus type 3 (CoxB-3) using a cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction assay. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using two tests: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free-radical scavenging and the ammonium thiocyanate methods. All extracts were characterized quantitatively for the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins. Of the extracts tested, butanol and ethyl acetate extracts showed important antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria but only moderate antifungal activity. Methanol extract exhibited moderate antiviral activity against HCMV with IC50 of 250 μg/ml. Ethyl acetate, chloroform, and methanol fractions were found to cause significant free-radical-scavenging effects in both assays. These results may suggest that R. raetam flowers could be used as a natural preservative ingredient in the food and/or pharmaceutical industries.

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Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Pr Mohamed Chaieb for botanical classification of the plant material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire des substances biologiquement actives et des maladies transmissibles Faculté de Pharmacie, 5000, Monastir, Tunisie

    Edziri Hayet, Hiar Raida & Aouni Mahjoub

  2. Laboratoire de Microbiologie C H U Fattouma BOURGUIBA, 5000, Monastir, Tunisie

    Mastouri Maha, Patrich Gros, Ali Si Mohamed & Laurent Gutmann

  3. Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et de Synthèse Organique 99/UR/12-26 Faculté des Sciences de Monastir, 5000, Monastir, Tunisie

    Ammar Samia

  4. Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Virologie, Hôpital Européen George Pompidou, APHP, 20, Rue Leblanc, 75905, Paris cedex 15, France

    Matieu Mata, Mahjoub Mohamed Ali & Zine Mighri

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  1. Edziri Hayet
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  2. Mastouri Maha
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Correspondence to Zine Mighri.

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Hayet, E., Maha, M., Samia, A. et al. Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiviral activities of Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb flowers growing in Tunisia. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 24, 2933–2940 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9835-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9835-y

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