Phytochemical screening, antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Fungicidal Activities of Nerium oleander L.
Phytochemical screening, antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Fungicidal Activities of Nerium oleander L.
- Author(s) Nassim Zouaoui, Nassima Azizi, , Hanane Seghier, Hayette Bouabida, and Selma Ferhi,
- Year: 2026
- Month: January
- Volume: 67
- Pages: 23-36
We did phytochemical screening of Nerium oleander L.,ethanolic and aqueous extracts, todetermine the content of total polyphenols and flavonoids, to test their in-vitro antioxidant activityby DPPH radical scavenging and antimicrobial activity using the disk diffusion method. The plantcontained flavonoids, gallic tannins, catechol tannins, saponins and terpenes. The total polyphenolsand flavonoids contents ranged from 65.321±4.93 mg GAE/g to 11.753±0.92 mg QE/g for theaqueous extract and 88.25±3.25 mg GAE/g to 10.035±0.34 mg QE/g for the ethanolic extract,respectively. N. oleander extracts had higher antioxidant activities (from 33.38±2.88 aqueous and10.97±1.66 μg/mL for ethanolic). The antimicrobial properties of N. oleander extracts wereevaluated against 3-Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa andSerratia marcescens), 2-Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcusaureus) and 2-fungal species (Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis). Both ethanolic andaqueous extracts demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against all tested strains, except theSerratia marcescens. The ethanolic extract of N. oleander showed the highest antimicrobial activity,with inhibition zones of 15-17 mm against the most sensitive isolates. The lowest minimalinhibitory concentration (MIC) of 39 μg/mL was observed for the ethanolic extract against C.albicans, while the aqueous extract had an MIC of 78 μg/mL against P. aeruginosa.
