Comparative Insights into the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Nutritional Potential of the Solanum nigrum Complex.

Mohyuddin, Ayesha; Kurniawan, Tonni Agustiono; Khan, Zaheer-ud-din; Nadeem, Sohail; Javed, Mohsin; Dera, Ayed A.; Iqbal, Shahid; Awwad, Nasser S.; Ibrahium, Hala A.; Abourehab, Mohammed A. S.; Rabea, Sameh; Elkaeed, Eslam B.; Asghar, Muhammad Nadeem; Saeed, Shagufta

Highlights: (1) Against the seven bacteria tested, the five taxa studied had varying antibacterial activity. (2) Plant extracts were discovered to be as efficient as antibiotics in certain circumstances. (3) All plants had moderate DPPH free radical scavenging activity, but S. chenopodioides performed the best. (4) In the ABTS experiment, S. retroflexum had the highest Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, with a TEAC of 33.88 mM/100 g of dry weight. (5) The therapeutic potential of specific plants may therefore be used to evaluate their functioning and chemical makeup. Solanum nigrum is a traditional medicinal plant renowned as a cure for many diseases due to the presence of bioactive compounds. The Solanum nigrum complex refers to a group of more than 30 closely related but morphologically distinct taxa. Five indigenous taxa of this complex were investigated for their medicinal potential by using methanolic extracts. The efficacy of each plant was different for each of the seven bacteria studied. On comparing the MIC values, S. americanum was found to be most potent against Bacillus licheniformis (34 µg/mL), S. chenopodioides against Escherichia coli (78 µg/mL), S. nigrum against Bacillus licheniformis (49 µg/mL) and Escherichia coli (49 µg/mL), S. retroflexum against Escherichia coli (30 µg/mL), and S. villosum against Proteus mirabilis (45 µg/mL). The extracts were also subjected to six antioxidant assays. Moderate scavenging activity was observed by all plants in the DPPH free radical assay, but S. chenopodioides was the most effective. The total phenolic contents of the five plants were comparable, but the gallic acid equivalents of S. americanum and S. nigrum were the highest (26.58 mg/100 g GAE). The highest Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity was observed for S. retroflexum, with the ABTS assay giving a TEAC value of 33.88 mM/100 g of dry weight. Metal-chelating activity against Fe2+ was observed to be highest for S. chenopodioides (70.37%). The FRAP value of S. nigrum was the highest (8.5 mM FeSO4·7H2O) among all taxa. The lipid peroxidation trend was very similar for all five samples. The results suggest the specified medicinal use of different members of the Solanum nigrum complex, which will also have significant nutritional value.

SOLANUM nigrum; BACILLUS licheniformis; OXIDANT status; NUTRITIONAL value; PLANT extracts; GALLIC acid

Processes, 2022, Vol 10, Issue 8, p1455

2227-9717

Academic Journal

10.3390/pr10081455