In vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the Algerian species Micropus bombycinus

The present study reports the in vitro pharmacological properties of the methanolic extract obtained from the species Micropus bombycinus Lag. The quantification of total phenolic content was performed using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by four different assays. Moreover, the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using the albumin denaturation method and the antibacterial activity was estimated by agar disk diffusion assay against ten bacterial strains. The Micropus bombycinus methanolic extract contains several classes of secondary metabolites known for their biological properties. A high content of polyphenols was estimated (115.32 +/- 0.47 mu g GAE/mg of plant extract). The MeOH extract possessed strong antioxidant activities in various assays that subsequently correlated with its phenolic content. It had also the ability to inhibit thermally-induced protein denaturation with a percentage of 27.51% at the concentration of 400 mu g/mL. Furthermore, this extract showed antibacterial activity against all the tested strains with zones of inhibition ranging from 9 to 28 mm. It can be concluded that Micropus bombycinus could be an interesting source for potential bioactive compounds as inhibitors of pathogenic bacteria, and it helps to cure chronic inflammatory (Rheumatoid arthritis) and oxidative stress-related diseases.