Phytochemical and antimicrobial screening of leaves and stems of Balkan endemic species Daphne malyana Blečić

Abstract

Daphne malyana Blečić (Thymelaeaceae) is an endemic species of the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. No previous detailed studies exist on D. malyana Blečić. The aim of this study was to provide information on the anatomy of the leaf and stem as well as to perform phytochemical screening and to assay the antimicrobial activity of methanol extracts of the leaves and stems of D. malyana Blečić. The phytochemical analysis showed that coumarins and flavonoids are the major classes of secondary metabolites in both leaves and stems. The antimicrobial activity of the methanol extracts from leaves and stems of D. malyana was also evaluated against six Gram-positive and six Gram-negative bacteria by employing both microdilution and disc diffusion methods. The results from the well-diffusion assay showed significant antimicrobial activity at all tested concentrations of the extracts. The results showed that methanol extracts of leaves and twigs have similar chemical compositions and similar antimicrobial activity. To our knowledge this is the first report on the phytochemistry and antimicrobial activity of this plant species. © 2012 American Scientific Publishers.