Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of the Ethanolic Extract of Micromeria Fruticosa Growing in Lebanon

The total phenolic and flavonoidal content of the ethanolic extract of Micromeria fruticosa was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) and aluminum chloride spectrophotometric methods. Quantitative High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used for the identification and quantification of each phenolic compound present in the extract. Chlorgenic acid, Naringenin, quercetin and ellagic acid were found to be the major phenolic compounds of the extract. The antioxidant activity of the extract was tested using the DPPH scavenging assay. The extract has shown a strong scavenging activity with an IC50 = 50 μg/mL compared to the synthetic antioxidant Butylated HydroxyToluene (BHT) (IC50 = 91.40 μg/mL). The antimicrobial activity was carried out using screening test and broth micro dilution method against Staphylococcus aureas (ATCC 6538), Esherichia coli (ATCC 8739) Pseudomonas aureginosa (ATCC 9027 Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) and pathogenic Aspirigillus niger. The extract has shown a significant antimicrobial activity against all of the tested micro organisms with the strongest activity against Staphylococcus aureus that was close to that of imipenem and much more than that of ampicillin.