Phytochemical profiling and antimicrobialpotential of the fruit and leaf extractsfrom Cucumis Aculeatus

Abstract

Background Cucumis aculeatus is traditionally used to manage microbial infectionssuch as diarrhea, wounds, and gonorrhea, yet scientific data on its phytochemicalcomposition and antimicrobial potential remain limited. This study investigated thephytochemical profile and in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of C. aculeatusextracts.Methods Extraction of phytochemicals was done by soaking the plant materialsin cold hexane, 1:1 dichloromethane/methanol (DCM/MeOH), and 100% methanol(MeOH). Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify thenon-polar phytochemicals present in the extracts. The agar well disk diffusion methodwas used to test in-vitro antimicrobial properties of the extracts.Results Majorly, fatty acids, esters, alcohols, and hydrocarbons were tentativelyidentified in crude extracts obtained from different parts of C. aculeatus. The fresh fruit1:1 DCM/MeOH and dry fruit hexane extracts exhibited good inhibition against E. coli(ZI = 14.33 mm compared to 23.00 mm by ciprofloxacin) and S. aureus (ZI = 14.67 mmclose to 17.33 mm by vancomycin), respectively. On the other hand, the fresh fruitmethanol and dry leaves 1:1 DCM/MeOH extracts were the most effective inhibitorsof A. niger and A. flavus with inhibition zones of 17.80 mm and 13.73 mm, respectively,comparatively lower than ketoconazole (26.87 mm) and voriconazole. (21.00 mm). Theother extracts had low to moderate effects towards the growth of the tested bacteriaand fungi strains.