Phytochemical Analysis and Antibacterial Activity of Tribulus terrestris from Cholistan Desert

Abstract

Tribulus terrestris (Puncture vine) is a medicinal herb found all around the world and also in the desert of Cholistan. Its therapeutic efficacy as eastern medicines have been known since ancient times. The present studies investigated the presence of phytochemicals and its antibacterial potential of Tribulus terrestris collected from desert of Cholistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Qualitative tests indicated the presence of alkaloids flavonoids, saponins terpenoids, tannins, carbs, proteins, amino acids and glycosides. Moreover, antibacterial potential of methanolic extracts of (seeds, leaves, stem and roots) was assessed using diffusion methods against different bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results shown that leaf and fruit extracts had (0 mm) activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While, methanolic extracts of leaves had the highest inhibitory activity (12 mm) against Klebsiella pneumoniae, whereas other bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, had the lowest inhibition region (2.2mm). Furthermore, methanolic extract of leaves showed a quite moderate inhibition zone (10mm) against Staphylococcus aureus, compared to Tribulus terrestris extract of fruits, which had a (7mm) inhibition zone. The present study indicated that the phytochemicals extracted from Tribulus terrestris are valuable for the development of pharmacological formulations to treat different diseases.