In vitro Phytochemical, Larvicidal and Antimicrobial Activities of Gum Arabic Extract

Abstract

The Gum Arabic of Acacia senegal (GA) has been reported to treat several diseases, such as kidney failure and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disease. However, scarce investigation has been made into the phytoconstituents of GA. Obtained GA was macerated in water, then GA aqueous extract was subjected to phytochemical analysis using standard protocols and bioactivity screening by different procedures. Antimicrobial screening was performed using the cup-plate diffusion method against four bacterial strains and one fungi strain. The larvicidal activity was evaluated against the third instar of Culex quinquefasciatus. The phytochemical analysis showed that GA extract contains high amounts of saponins and alkaloids, moderate amounts of cardiac glycosides, and trace amounts of tannins. GA extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against the test organisms, with different zones of inhibition ranging 0 - 18 mm. The larvicidal activity showed significant perfection with increasing extract dose and exposure period with mortality up to 86.7 %. Results reveal that the crude extract of GA contains important biomolecules which has been proved to have substantial larvicidal and antimicrobial activities.