Investigation of chemical properties and antimicrobial activity of Rumex alveollatus methanolic extract on Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Streptococcus pyogenes: An “in vitro” study

In recent years, special attention has been devoted to plant-derived drugs. Herbal medicines contain versatile compounds with a vast range of therapeutic effects. In this study, methanolic extract of Rumex alveollatus L. was obtained thorough the maceration method, and its total phenol content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging methods) and antimicrobial property (disk diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, and minimum inhibitory/bactericidal concentration) against Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Streptococcus pyogenes were evaluated. The methanolic extract of Rumex alveollatus contained 91.90 mg gallic acid/g total phenols and 48.60 mg quercetin/g total flavonoids. Antioxidant activity results showed that the extract was able to scavenge DPPH (69.58%) and ABTS (80.59%) free radicals. The growth of microorganisms was inhibited in the presence of high concentrations of the extract, and E. aerogenes and S. aureus were the most resistant and sensitive bacterial species to the methanolic extract of Rumex alveollatus. Therefore, Rumex alveollatus methanolic extract could be introduced as an effective compound in controlling bacterial infections and oxidation of lipid-based compounds.