Abstract
The current study appraises the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the leave extracts from four different species of Mulberry (Morus nigra L., Morus alba L., Morus macroura Miq. and Morus laevigata W.). In addition to estimation of total phenolic and total flavonoids contents, the antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by measuring the reducing power, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity. The yield of the extractable components from leaves ranged from 4.41-14.53 g/100 g Dry Weight (DW). The tested leave extracts exhibited widely variable amounts of total phenolics (3.14 to 11.38 g GAE/100g DW) and total flavonoids (0.53-5.83 g CE/100g DW). Reducing power of extracts at concentration 2.5 to 12.5 mg mL(-1) ranged from 0.40-1.52. The leave extracts considerably inhibited linoleic acid peroxidation up to the level of 60.23-88.51% and also showed remarkable DPPH radical scavenging activity with contribution 43.83-77.51%. The antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of the tested leave extracts varied considerably in relation to the species and extraction solvents employed. Overall, the aqueous-methanolic extract of Morus nigra exhibited the superior antioxidant and antimicrobial activities among others. The present results advocate that mulberry leaves are a potential candidate for isolation of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents for potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications.