Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
2 Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Papaver plants from the poppy family are among the famous medicinal plants that have always been the focus of the pharmaceutical and medical industries due to the production of morphine alkaloids and isoquinoline alkaloids with antimicrobial effects. A wide variety of Papaver species can be seen in the pastures and mountains of Kurdistan province. In this research, the methanolic extracts prepared from four Papaver species were investigated about the amount of morphinan alkaloids produced and the antimicrobial effects on the growth of microorganisms in laboratory conditions.
Methodology: Four Papver species including P. glaucum, P. fugax, P. argemone, and P. bracteatum were collected twice from their natural habitats in Kurdistan province in spring and were identified based on morphological characteristics under the supervision of a botanist of the province's agricultural and natural resources research center. In order to extract alkaloids, aerial parts, and roots were dried and powdered in the shade. Extracts were prepared by adding methanol and chloroform solvents in a ratio of 1 to 4 to the resulting powders of plants. The amount of morphine, codeine, thebaine, and papaverine alkaloids present in each of the samples was measured separately using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Also, the antimicrobial effects of extracts against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli were investigated. The pathogenicity was evaluated by measuring the growth halo, determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum lethal concentration (MBC), using the tube dilution method.
Results: The production of morphine alkaloids in all of the studied species was confirmed by HPLC. The amount of morphine as the dominant alkaloid among the four studied species varied from 4.21 to 21.33 mg/g dry weight. The highest amount of morphine (21.33 mg/g) was observed in P. bracteatum extract and the highest amount of thebaine and codeine (8.67 and 1.8 mg/g) was observed in P. fugax extract. The observation of non-growth aura against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria confirmed the antimicrobial effects of the investigated plant extracts. The detected amounts of minimum inhibitory concentration against the gram-positive and gram negative bacteria varied from 25 to 100 mg/ml and minimum lethal concentration was just observed against Escherichia coli. P. bracteatum plant extract showed the highest inhibitory effect against E. coli bacteria with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 25 mg/ml and a minimum lethal concentration of
50 mg/ml.
Conclusion: By examining the results, it was found that the studied Papaver species produce significant amounts and ranges of morphine alkaloids, which designates these natural species' genetic and medicinal value for further studies. In addition, the extract of these plants showed antimicrobial effects against the reference strains of gram-positive and gram-negative pathogenic bacteria used in this research. Therefore, it is suggested that more studies be conducted in the field of separation and separation of the metabolites of these plants and the investigation of their antimicrobial effects in subsequent studies to achieve effective and novel antimicrobial compounds and drugs.
Keywords
- Alkaloids
- Papaver
- minimum bactericidal concentration
- minimum inhibitory concentration
- morphinan
- HPLC
Main Subjects
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