Antibacterial Activity and Chemical Composition of Arum hygrophilum Boiss Crude Extracts

Plants are an important origin of novel pharmacological compounds. In Jordan, Arum hygrophilum Boiss plant is utilized as food and used as traditional medicine for the management of many diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activity and investigate the chemical components of Arum hygrophilum Boiss extracts. Water, methanol and ethanol extracts of the plant were prepared and dissolved in Dimethyl sulfoxide to a final stock concentration of 500mg/ml. The antibacterial effect of the extracts was performed using the well diffusion method against the following bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella typhi. In addition, antifungal activity was studied using Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, and Candida rugose. As compared with the standard inhibition zone of some antibiotics, the water extract exhibited a significant inhibition zone against P. aeruginosa (30 mm ± 3.0), whereas methanol extract showed significant inhibition zones against P. aeruginosa (21± 2.5 mm) and against E. faecalis (15 ± 0.37mm). No antifungal activity was detected in all plant extracts. Chemical compounds identification was carried out applying Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis. Test of the extracts revealed the presence of 21 chemical components in the methanol extract, 11 compounds were detected in the water extract and 23 compounds in the ethanol extract. Among these chemicals, alkaloids were detected; two in methanol extract, (3H)-Pyrimidinone and pyrrolidin-2-one and one alkaloid in the water extract, 1H-Imidazole, 2-ethyl-4,5dihydro. The water extract also contained Tert-butyl hydroxy anisole (phenolic compound). Other important components included: Tetrahydropyranis in methanol extract, Butanoic acid in methanol and water extracts, and 2-amino-1,3-propanediol in the water extract. Since the global scheme is now changing towards the use of traditional plant products to control infectious diseases, we believed that the findings in this study are promising, providing a therapeutic potential, and should be further investigated for their medicinal applications.