Phytochemical screening analysis of Eleutherine bulbosa extracts and its potential as antibacterial and antioxidant activity

Eleutherine bulbosa or bawang dayak in Malay is a well-known member of the Iridaceae family with a wide range of therapeutic possibilities. The Dayak population has historically utilized the Eleutherine bulbosa as a folk remedy to treat a variety of illnesses including diabetes, breast cancer, nasal congestion, and infertility issues. E. bulbosa is a revolutionary in both medicine and drug discovery and development due to its naturally occurring antioxidants and antibacterial constituents. However, there were limited studies on the E. bulbosa in Malaysia. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify the phytochemical constituents in E. bulbosa extract using preliminary phytochemical screening analysis, to investigate the antibacterial activity in E. bulbosa extracts using the disc diffusion method and to examine the antioxidant abilities in E. bulbosa extract using the DPPH radical scavenging assay performance. The dried bulbs of E. bulbosa was extracted using maceration extraction in 95% ethanol. The percentage yield obtained was 2.22%. Meanwhile, the phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. For antioxidant activity, the E. bulbosa extract inhibits scavenging activity, lower than standard reference, ascorbic acid. Thus, it proved that E. bulbosa bulb extract has good antioxidant activity and potential to acts as natural antioxidants. As for antibacterial study, the present study showed that the E. bulbosa extract was active against the gram negative (E. coli) and resistance against gram positive (B. licheniformis). The inhibition zones of E. bulbosa extract against E. coli in three different concentrations (1.25%, 5%, 15%) were 9.7 mm, 12.7 mm, and 17.0 mm, respectively, while there was no inhibition zone against B. licheniformis. This might be due to the error when conducting the antibacterial study.