Evaluation of Phytochemical Screening, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Ethanol Extracts of Cucumis flexouses and Cucumis reticulatus Seeds

The current study is designed to investigate the phytochemical screening and to examine the potential antimicrobial, antioxidant activities of ethanol extract of Cucumis flexouses and Cucumis reticulatus. The ethanol extract of C. flexouses and C. reticulatus seeds were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening for the confirmation of various phytochemicals and their total phenolic and flavonoid content is verified by the colorimetric method. Subsequently, antimicrobial activity of both extracts at the concentration of (25, 50, 100 mg/ml) against various microbial organisms was evaluated via the disc diffusion method by measuring zone of inhibition and estimating minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The antioxidant activity was assessed by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and DPPH free radical scavenging method. The ethanol extract of Cucumis flexouses showed maximum antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus (29.0±0.05mm), Bacillus subtilis (17.0±0.02 mm) followed by gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (22.0±0.05 mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15.04±0.34mm) respectively at 100mg/ ml concentration as compared to standard drug. Moreover, both the extracts showed no activity against fungal species Candida albicans. Similarly, significant antioxidant effects at 100mg/ml concentration (1.17±0.025) were also observed by FTC and (1.09±0.017) by DPPH method. The result of the current study depicts that ethanol extract of C. flexouses seeds possess significant in-vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant effects as compared to C. reticulatus seed extract and could be a good substitute for many infectious diseases