Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests

Plants are rich and valuable sources of phytochemical constituents that can contribute to a variety of biological activities. The research in discovering novel antimicrobial compounds from plants has been of increased interest due to the global rise of antibiotic resistance. The present study aims t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80353/
_version_ 1848801164180586496
author Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan
author_facet Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan
author_sort Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Plants are rich and valuable sources of phytochemical constituents that can contribute to a variety of biological activities. The research in discovering novel antimicrobial compounds from plants has been of increased interest due to the global rise of antibiotic resistance. The present study aims to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial, antibiotic synergistic potential and the chemical profile of plant extracts associated with Cleistanthus bracteosus found in Malaysian rainforests. The antibacterial activity and synergistic antibacterial activity of chloroform, methanol and hexane crude extracts of C. bracteosus were determined against bacterial pathogens of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Acinetobacter baumannii. The chloroform stem extract exhibited the highest antibacterial activity which indicated a mean inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of 10 ± 0.26 mm at its highest concentration against the Gram-positive bacterium B. cereus. The best synergistic activity was shown for chloroform wood extract when combined with ampicillin against A. baumannii with a growth inhibitory index (GIIs) of 1.33. A fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of f <0.5 was indicated for ampicillin and penicillin G when combined with chloroform stem, bark and wood extracts against A. baumannii. Potassium clavulanate profoundly synergized chloroform stem extract against E. coli ATCC 10536 (IZD = 27 ± 0.56 mm) and chloroform bark extract against S. typhi (IZD = 28 ± 0.54 mm). C. bracteosus extracts indicated the presence of secondary metabolites like flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, coumarins, saponines and traces of terpenes. Chloroform extracts of bark, stem and wood consist of 20 bioactive phytochemical compounds according to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). Further analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) implied the presence of digoxigenin and lauric acid, existing as major compounds contributing to antibacterial and antibiotic synergism. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations further elucidated the effects of C. bracteosus chloroform extracts on the morphology of susceptible organisms. The findings of this investigation justify that chloroform extracts of C. bracteosus can function as a novel antibacterial agent with synergistic potential.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T21:03:06Z
format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
id nottingham-80353
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T21:03:06Z
publishDate 2025
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-803532025-02-28T15:22:34Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80353/ Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan Plants are rich and valuable sources of phytochemical constituents that can contribute to a variety of biological activities. The research in discovering novel antimicrobial compounds from plants has been of increased interest due to the global rise of antibiotic resistance. The present study aims to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial, antibiotic synergistic potential and the chemical profile of plant extracts associated with Cleistanthus bracteosus found in Malaysian rainforests. The antibacterial activity and synergistic antibacterial activity of chloroform, methanol and hexane crude extracts of C. bracteosus were determined against bacterial pathogens of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Acinetobacter baumannii. The chloroform stem extract exhibited the highest antibacterial activity which indicated a mean inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of 10 ± 0.26 mm at its highest concentration against the Gram-positive bacterium B. cereus. The best synergistic activity was shown for chloroform wood extract when combined with ampicillin against A. baumannii with a growth inhibitory index (GIIs) of 1.33. A fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of f <0.5 was indicated for ampicillin and penicillin G when combined with chloroform stem, bark and wood extracts against A. baumannii. Potassium clavulanate profoundly synergized chloroform stem extract against E. coli ATCC 10536 (IZD = 27 ± 0.56 mm) and chloroform bark extract against S. typhi (IZD = 28 ± 0.54 mm). C. bracteosus extracts indicated the presence of secondary metabolites like flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, coumarins, saponines and traces of terpenes. Chloroform extracts of bark, stem and wood consist of 20 bioactive phytochemical compounds according to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). Further analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) implied the presence of digoxigenin and lauric acid, existing as major compounds contributing to antibacterial and antibiotic synergism. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations further elucidated the effects of C. bracteosus chloroform extracts on the morphology of susceptible organisms. The findings of this investigation justify that chloroform extracts of C. bracteosus can function as a novel antibacterial agent with synergistic potential. 2025-02-08 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80353/1/PhD%20Thesis%20-%20Chemical%20profiling%20and%20evaluation%20of%20in-vitro%20antibacterial%20and%20antibiotic%20synergistic%20activities%20of%20Cleistanthus%20bracteosus%20Jabl.%20from%20Malaysian%20Rainforests.pdf Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan (2025) Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. antibacterial activity; synergistic activity; cleistanthus bracteosus; GIIs; FICI; GC-MS; HPLC; SEM
spellingShingle antibacterial activity; synergistic activity; cleistanthus bracteosus; GIIs; FICI; GC-MS; HPLC; SEM
Dassanayake, Mackingsley Kushan
Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title_full Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title_fullStr Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title_full_unstemmed Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title_short Chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of Cleistanthus bracteosus Jabl. from Malaysian rainforests
title_sort chemical profiling and evaluation of in-vitro antibacterial and antibiotic synergistic activities of cleistanthus bracteosus jabl. from malaysian rainforests
topic antibacterial activity; synergistic activity; cleistanthus bracteosus; GIIs; FICI; GC-MS; HPLC; SEM
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80353/