PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF OLAX DISSITIFLORA OLIVER (MUSSIRO)

Pharmaceutical sciences face challenges related to antibiotics toxicity and microorganism resistance. Olax dissitiflora (mussiro) is traditionally used in Mozambique for skin diseases treatment and beauty. The research aims to bring scientific studies for its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The hydroethanolic extracts of leaves, stem and stem bark of Olax dissitiflora species were evaluated for their phytochemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Thus, total phenols, total flavonoids, hydrolysable and condensed tannins, total alkaloids and antioxidant activity were determined by spectrophotometric method and the correlation between the concentration and activity was made. The antibiotic properties were evaluated by disk diffusion method. The results showed higher phenolic content (159.9 ± 0.9 mg GAE / DE), and higher antioxidant activity for the stem extract in all tested methods: DPPH assay (EC₅₀ = 150.80 ± 0.47 µg/mL), ABTS test (EC₅₀ =25.01 ± 0.05 µg/mL), ferricyanide test (EC₅₀ =23.98 ± 0.14 µg/mL) and phosphomolybdenum test (EC₅₀ = 180.19 ± 0.07 µg/mL) with a very good correlation with the extract concentration. Regarding the antibacterial activity of all tested extracts, the maximum effectiveness was verified against Salmonella typhimurium among the three bacteria tested (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhimurium). The results of this study show that the medicinal species Olax dissitiflora has a strong antioxidant and antibiotic action, therefore, it can be used to obtain different pharmaceutical formulations to fight inflammation, extrinsic aging and skin infections caused by bacteria or free radicals.