Antimicrobial Activity of Cyperus rotundus Linn. Extracts and Phytochemical Screening

This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of C. rotundus rhizomes and tuber together, leaves and oil against several bacteria and three species of fungi. The plant was collected from Degala, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. Antimicrobial activity of Crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts was examined by inoculating bacteria and fungi on media containing plant extract, and agar well diffusion method. The study revealed the effect of plant by evaluating microbial growth and inhibition zone measurement. Aqueous extract of leave had ability to suppress growth of E. coli, and both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of rhizome-tuber figured out antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, positively. Moreover, all selected bacteria and fungi were susceptible to ethanolic extract of rhizometuber, with different inhibition zones. Cyperus oil had no potential inhibitory effect against bacteria and fungi, excluding C. albicans. By performing phytochemical screening for rhizome-tuber extracts eleven secondary metabolites were detected.