Antioxidant dimension and potential as bacterial growth inhibitors in crude extracts of two Artemisia species (Artemisia indica Willd. and Artemisia maritima L.) from Gilgit-Baltistan region, Pakistan

Microorganisms are responsible to initiate numerous infectious diseases as many of them are antibiotic resistant. In this regard, bioactive compounds from Artemisia could be vital to control such infections. The objectives of this study were to assess total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC) with antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacies in Artemisia indica Willd. and Artemisia maritima L. extracts from Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. TFC and TPC were assessed with aluminum chloride colorimetric and folin ciocalteu’s procedures and free radicals scavenging activities were evaluated with DPPH and TAC methods. Inhibitory activities of extracts against 4 bacterial strains were assessed with well diffusion technique. The maximum extract yield was attained with methanol (MeOH) in A. maritima (5.14g, 12.85%) and A. indica (4.19g, 10.47%), while lower yield was obtained with n-hexane (n-HEX) in A. indica (0.51g, 1.29%). Maximum TPC and TFC in A. indica and A. maritma were obtained in the ethanol (EtOH) extracts. The EtOH extracts in both species overall displayed maximum DPPH percentage inhibition with maximum TAC in A. indica chloroform (CL) extract and A. maritima MeOH extract. The A. indica extract at 5–50 mg/ml exhibited inhibitory effects against bacteria with 10–25 mm, while A. maritima displayed 8–23 mm inhibition zones. Highest inhibitions were obtained at 50 mg/ml against all strains. MeOH and ethyl acetate (EA) exhibited greater inhibition for P. aeruginosa then B. subtilis when evaluated for minimum inhibition concentrations. A. indica and A. maritima plant extracts are significant with essential bioactive compounds and could be sued as natural antibacterial agents.