Antifungal, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of C. macrostachyus plant leaves extracts using different solvents

The need for natural product-based bioactive plants with synergistic antioxidant and antibacterial properties is rapidly increasing worldwide. This study focuses on evaluating the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal potential of C. macrostachyus Hochst. Ex Delile, which is frequently used in traditional settings to treat inflammatory conditions and infectious problems. The DPPH assay was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity; the antibacterial activity was tested against four microorganisms using an agar well diffusion assay, and the antifungal activity was tested against six fungal pathogens through a potato dextrose agar medium. Different chemical compounds were identified using HPLC and UV-Visible spectroscopic methods. The methanol extract showed better antioxidant capacity, with an IC₅₀ value of 40.07 mg/mL compared with the other solvent extracts (p < 0.001). From all solvent extracts, the antibacterial activity test revealed potent antibacterial activity of the methanol extracts against E. coli and K. pneumoniae, with zones of inhibition of 22 ± 1.37 mm and 26 ± 1.18 mm, respectively. The chloroform extract also showed promising antifungal activity towards strawberry gray mold (20.3 ± 1.8 mm inhibition) which is greater than that of the other solvent extracts. The general data showed that the leaf part of the plant can be used for pharmaceutical, agricultural and food prevention applications due to its richness of antioxidants, antibacterial, and antifungal agents.