Hafse et al. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci, Vol 7, Issue 5, ??-?? 108 EVALUATION OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND DETERMINATION OF POLYPHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS CONTENTS OF MOROCCAN CORIARIA MYRTIFOLIA EXTRACTS Original Article MAHA HAFSE 1 , ABDELLAH FARAH 2 , KAWTAR FIKRI BENBRAHIM 1* 1 Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology Saïss. Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, P. O. Box 2202. Fez, Morocco, 2 Received: 15 Jan 2015 Revised and Accepted: 10 Feb 2015 Laboratory of Aromatic Plants, Medicinal and Natural Substances, National Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco Email: kawtarbenbrahim@hotmail.com ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Coriaria myrtifolia’s extracts from two Moroccan regions and to determine their total polyphenol’s and flavonoid’s contents. Methods: The disk diffusion method was used to evaluate antimicrobial activity. Folin Ciocalteu and aluminum trichloride methods were used to determine the Total polyphenol’s and flavonoid’s contents respectively. Results: The ethyl acetate extracts induced inhibition zone diameters of 20.3 mm and 22.6 mm for samples collected from Bab Berred (BB) and of 20 and 19 mm for those from Oued Al Koub (OK) respectively in Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Inhibition zone diameters of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were only 12.3 and 10 mm respectively for BB and OK ethyl acetate extracts. The polyphenols and flavonoids contents were respectively 609µg/ml and 105µg/ml in the OK ethyl acetate extract and only 475 and 6 µg/ml in the dichloromethan extract. Conclusion: The antibacterial activity of tested extracts depends on the extract’s nature, the bacterial strain and the plant’s geographical provenance. The ethyl acetate’s extract of C. myrtifolia from BB was the most active. Mycobacterium aurum and M. smegmatis were the most sensitive to Coriaria myrtifolia’s extracts and P. aeruginosa was the most resistant. The polyphenol’s and flavonoid’s contents were different depending on the extract’s nature and the plant’s provenance. Valorization of Coriaria myrtifolia and evaluation of its biological and phytochemical activities will enable us to screen and test new natural antibacterial molecules in general and antimycobacterial agents in particular. Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Coriaria myrtifolia, Mycobacterium, Total polyphenols, Flavonoids. INTRODUCTION For centuries, plants have been used to treat several diseases [1]; hence most eminent doctors were herbalists in the past. Currently, medicinal and aromatic plants have considerable advantages due to the progressive discovery of their applications in health care as well as their uses in other domains of economic interests. Because of these numerous uses they know a stronger demand on the world market. The antimicrobial properties of medicinal plants were recognized for a long time, but were confirmed scientifically only recently. These plants have an enormous therapeutic potential to treat many infectious diseases [2]. Indeed, they contains numerous substances able to protect against microorganisms, insects and weeds [3]. So, the plant’s production of secondary metabolites, having an antibacterial activity, took an important place in research studies [4, 5]. Several researchers studied the biological activities of aromatic and medicinal plants from different world’s regions. Some extracts were effective to control the growth of a big variety of microorganisms. In this context, this study was conducted in a perspective to evaluate and valorize the phytochemical activity of C. myrtifolia even if this plant has no medical or medicinal previously known uses; however, it is used in the north of Morocco in tanning, burning and utensil washing. Hence, the aim of our study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Coriaria myrtifolia’s extracts against Mycobacterium smegmatis, M. aurum, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., Bacillus spp., Enterococcus faecalis, and to determine their total contents of polyphenols and flavonoids. In addition, it represents a contribution for providing prevention or alternative treatment for chronic and/or severe infectious diseases, and for solving the problem of bacterial resistance against existing antibacterial agents. Moreover, the evaluation of antimycobacterial activity of this plant has never been investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material Coriaria myrtifolia was collected, in February 2011, from two different stations in northern Morocco: Bab Berred (35 ° 00 ' 979 '' N, 004 ° 58 ' 092 '' W, 1290 m altitude, South East exposure, 80 % Slope, Limestone dolomite soil) and Oued Al Koub (35 ° 01 '879 '' N, 005 ° 20 ' 565 '' W, 140 m altitude, North West exposure, 40 % Slope, conglomeratic soil). The samples taken to laboratory were air-dried, then leaves were separated from stems and grind to a suitable particle size for optimal dissolution. Bacterial strains tested Several gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were used to test the antibacterial activity of Coriaria myrtifolia extracts: Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus sp., Salmonella sp., Enterococcus faecalis, Mycobacterium smegmatis MC²155 and Mycobacterium aurum A+(Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Technology Fez, Morocco). The tested bacteria are pathogenic and are known for their invasiveness and toxicity to humans. They are frequently encountered in many infections like tuberculosis (Mycobacterium), food borne illness (Salmonella), urinary infections (Enterococcus); skin, respiratory, endovascular infections (Staphylococcus aureus) and also Nosocomial infections (Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas). Some ones are also responsible of food alteration (Bacillus). Preparation of extracts Extraction was performed by Soxhlet or by sonication of the Coriaria myrtifolia’s leaves powder. Hence, successive application of four analytical solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane and methanol) to 45 g of powder put in the cartridge of the Soxhlet, yielded various extracts using the protocol described by Farrapo et al. (2011) [6]. For the second method, 45 g of powder was immersed in 200 ml of methanol and then subjected to ultrasonication (30 °C, 35 KHz) [5]. At the end of each extraction (Soxhlet, ultrasonication), the solvents were evaporated using a rotary evaporator (90 rpm, 40 °C). Each collected extract was named depending on the solvent used during its extraction. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN- 0975-1491 Vol 7, Issue 5, 2015 Innovare Academic Sciences