Vol. 4, Issue 2 (2015)

Author(s):
Rasha Mohamed Osman Alaagib, Saad Mohamed Hussein Ayoub

Abstract:
The black root of Saussurea lappa (Asteraceae), an aromatic perennial plant growing in the open slopes of India and Kashmir, are used in traditional medicine for treatment of several diseases and ailments. The present study was carried out to extract the root available in the local market with solvents increasing in polarity, to assess their antibacterial activity and to identify some biologically active constituents by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. Phytochemical screening of the root extracts indicated the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, sterols, saponins and tannis. The petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and water extracts were assessed by the cup plate diffusion method against two standard Gram positive and three standard Gram negative bacteria: Bacillus subtilis; Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli; Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively. The chloroform extract showed the highest activity. Five compounds have been identified in the active fraction based on ir-spectroscopic and HPLC-MS analysis data. The compounds were: Umbelliferonglucoside, Costunolide, Luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, Rutin and Apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucoside.