Cinnamomum verum: Ethylacetate and methanol extracts antioxidant and antimicrobial activity

Cinnamomum verum is an evergreen tree that is widely used as cinnamon spice. The plant is medicinally used against gastrointestinal conditions and has anti-inflammation pharmacological activity. The antioxidant activities of the leaves and stem bark methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of plant material from the Democratic Republic of Congo were assayed using total phenolic content, diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), ferric reducing, iron chelating and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assays. The phytochemical analysis of methanol extracts indicated strong presence of alkaloids, flavanoids, tannins, phenols and saponins, while fatty acids were detected from the stem bark methanol extract only. The methanol solvent extracted high content of phenolics from the leaves and stem bark. The bark methanol extracts exhibited good DPPH activity (IC50= 76.5 µg/mL) than the leaves extract (IC50= 100.2 µg/mL). The methanol extracts of leaves (IC50= 98.5 µg/mL) and stem bark (IC50= 72.3 µg/mL) exhibited a good metal chelating capacity. In the TBA assay the leaf and bark methanol extracts displayed high activity (81-85 % inhibition). The extracts antimicrobial activities were tested against, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomona aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The agar well diffusion was used for initial screening, while minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using agar dilution method for active extracts on the initial method. Ethylacetate stem bark extract was inactive while the methanol extracts had activities against some of the organisms. In conclusion, the methanol extract of both stem and leaves could be used as potential sources of new antioxidant and antimicrobial agents.