Title:Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Effects of the Cultivated Ruta chalepensis
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 5
Author(s):Lynda Gali* and Fatiha Bedjou
Affiliation:Plant Biotechnology and Ethnobotany Laboratory, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia, 06000 Bejaia, Plant Biotechnology and Ethnobotany Laboratory, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia, 06000 Bejaia
Keywords:Medicinal plants, Ruta chalepensis, antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity, alkaloids, fractionation.
Abstract:
Background: Ruta chalepensis is a shrub from the Mediterranean basin widely used in the
traditional medicine. The plant presents an interesting composition containing alkaloids, coumarins and
volatile oil. The present work aims to study the antibacterial and the cytotoxic effects of the ethanol
extract, its fractions, and the alkaloid extract from the cultivated Ruta chalepensis.
Methods: Extracts were tested against five bacterial strains using the agar well diffusion method and the
broth micro-dilution technique for the determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC).
Brine shrimp assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity.
Results: Chloroform fraction exhibited a strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus, and B. subtilis
with inhibition diameters of 25.5±0.7 and 18.5±2.12mm at 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml, respectively. Butanol
and aqueous fractions were found to be inactive against all the tested strains. Ethyl acetate was the
only active fraction against E. coli. Alkaloids showed a strong growth inhibition of B. subtilis and S.
aureus at low concentrations (22.5±0.71 and 18.00±0,00mm, respectively at 20mg/ml). The cytotoxicity
evaluation using the brine shrimp larvae indicated a high effect of alkaloids with an LC50 of 27.51μg/ml
supporting their antibacterial activity.
Conclusion: These findings suggest a possible use of Ruta chalepensis as a source of antibacterial and
anti-proliferative agents.