Evaluation of biological activities of the extracts from Curcuma aromatica Salisb. collected in Yen Bai province

Abstract

Curcuma aromatica Salisb. is a precious medicinal herb with proven uses such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-cancer abilities, etc. This study aims to evaluate the effects of extracts from the rhizome of C. aromatica Salisb. collected in Yen Bai province for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The results showed that the ethanol extracts of C. aromatica Salisb. had strong antibacterial activity against three strains Staphylococcus aureus VTCC12275, S. lentus
ATCC29070, and Escherichia coli VTCC12272. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the ethanol extracts of C. aromatica Salisb. against the three strains achieved 7, 6, and 9 µl/ml, respectively. Besides that, the extracts also proved antioxidant activity by the ability to scavenge free radicals (IC50). The initial findings suggested that C. aromatica Salisb. was a potential
medicinal herb of Vietnam for developing medicinal products.