Eurasian Journal of Forest Science, vol.7, no.3, pp.293-300, 2019 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Traditionally, the fruits and leaves of Arbutus (A.) andrachne are well known and used for applications in antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activity. This study was aimed to determine in vitro antibacterial, antioxidant and DNA interaction activities of the different extracts of A. andrachne.A. andrachne was collected from Amasya Province during May 2018. Dried leaves powder were mixed with of suitable solvents. Then, the mixtures were extracted with the soxhlet apparatus for 4 hours. The antibacterial effects of extracts were researched on pathogens, namely Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25953, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Bacillus cereus ATCC 7064, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, and Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076 using disc diffusion methods. Gentamicin and cefotaxime were used as the control for bacteria. To try to understand each plant extracts effect on the antioxidant methods, we studied the different methods as named radical scavenging activity (DPPH), metal chelating activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. In the plant extracts, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were determined by spectrophotometric methods due to investigating the effect of secondary metabolites on antioxidant activity. To explore the beneficial effect of the extracts on hydroxyl radical-mediated DNA damage, plasmid DNA pUC18 was used.As a result, A. andrachne extracts had an antibacterial effect when they compared with control group antibiotics. According to disc diffusion methods, the highest antibacterial effect was identified in ethanol, chloroform and hexane extract, respectively. Ethanol extract of A. andrachne showed the best antioxidant activity. Moreover, extracts of A. andrachne had repair effects on plasmid DNA in the presence of H2O2 condition.The investigated A. andrachne extract showed significant bioactivities. These extracts have been a promising candidate for the preparation of new natural products. However, future studies should be carried out to verify such actions in different matrices.