Potential of Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) as a natural antibacterial and antioxidant remedy

Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) is a species of the Myrtaceae family, also known as Cengkih in Malaysia. Chemical compounds in clove have been discovered to have a lot of potential metabolites to cure many diseases and illnesses such as colds, eye sties, bronchitis, sinus conditions, cough and asthma. The research focused on the extraction, phytochemical analysis and bioactivity properties of S.aromaticum. The extraction process used different polarity solvents such as petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol. Phytochemical screening was performed using several chemical tests, and the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids and phenols in crude extracts of clove was successfully detected. The antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi was determined in this study. The methanol crude extracts displayed the highest antibacterial activity against B. cereus with an inhibition zone of 12 mm. The antioxidant activity of S. aromaticum extract was carried out using the DPPH method. The petroleum ether extract showed strong DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 59.59 μg/mL. This study shows that the extracts of S.aromaticum contain medicinally bioactive compounds and have the potential as antibacterial and antioxidant agents that may benefit human health.