In vitro Investigation of Antimicrobial, Antitumor and DPPH Reduction Capacity of the Methanolic Extract of Scoparia dulcis

Scoparia dulcis belongs to the family Plantaginaceae. It is a flowering plant and locally common in the treatment of gastrointestinal upset and malaria. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial, antitumor and antioxidant activity of methanolic leaf extract of S. dulcis. The DPPH free radical scavenging assay was used to evaluate antioxidant property. The disk diffusion method and brine shrimp lethality bioassay were used to determine antibacterial and cytotoxic activity, respectively. In the evaluation of antioxidant property IC50 was found to be 196.66 µg/ml, in cytotoxicity testing, it was found that the plant extract has 29.868 µg/ml of LC50. The methanolic extract of S. dulcis leaves also have efficiency in bacterial growth inhibition; this extract is effective against both gram negative and positive bacteria. The zones of inhibition at 500 µg/ml dose in E. coli and S. aureus culture were 20 mm and 22 mm, respectively. In thin layer chromatography analysis, presence of non-polar and polar compounds, three non-chromatophoric compounds were found. We conclude that the S. dulcis is a potent antibacterial, antioxidant and cytotoxic medicinal plant.