Investigation of Antioxidant and Antibacterial Effect of Chemical Compounds Cardamine uliginosa Plant

Brassicaceae is a medium-sized family of flowering plants. The family contains more than 327 genera. Cardamine uliginosa is a type of plant of this species. Chemical and biochemical findings of this genus are very limited. This study aimed to investigate the chemical compounds and antioxidant and antibacterial properties of C. uliginosa.

Essential oil was prepared by hydrodistillation method and microwave assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD). The chemical composition of essential oil was evaluated by GC and GC-MS methods. The antioxidant property of the hydroalcoholic extract was investigated by 2, 2-dipheny1-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) solution. Finally, the antibacterial activity of C. uliginosa was investigated using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) methods.

Phetalic acid, Phenil, Caryophyllene, Eicosane, and other chemical compounds were found in the essential oil of C. uliginosa. The half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of hydroalcoholic extract was 0.42 μg/mL. The MIC and the MBC against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 15.62 and 31.25 respectively. The major compounds in the essential oils were 3-methyl-4-isopropylphenol (15.20%) and 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (16.75%).

Considering the chemical compounds of C. uliginosa and the finding of the antibacterial and antioxidant activity of C. uliginosa in vitro, capability of this plant needs to be further investigated for use in health and medical industries.