Determination of Fatty Acid Composition by GC-MS and Potential Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Rumex hastatus and Cytisus scoparius Seeds Grown in Kashmir

Rumex hastatus D. Don and Cytisus scoparius Linn. are medicinally important plants used in Ayurveda and food, are enriched with remarkable nervine, diuretic, sedative and various other therapeutic properties. In this study Soxhlet extraction produces higher yield of seed extracts. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine fatty acid composition of petroleum ether extracts (PE). The major fatty acids were Linolenic acid 53.53% in R. hastatus and linoleic acid 59.42% in C. scoparius. Palmitic acid was also found in significant amount (16.58% and 19.33%) in R. hastatus and C. scoparius respectively. The chloroform (RCF, CCF), ethyl acetate (REA, CEA), acetone (RAT, CAT) and methanol (RMT, CMT) extracts of R. hastaus and C. scoparius respectively, were examined for their antioxidant activity using 2,2-di-phenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 ), 2,2ˈ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay and antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus by Agar disc diffusion method. All the extracts showed good radical scavenging and antibacterial activities compared to butylated hydroxyltoluene and streptomycin respectively. However, dominant radical scavenging effect was observed at 100 µg/mL and 200 µg/mL concentrations of extracts and dominant zone of inhibition was shown by CAT, CMT, RAT and REA extracts. This study exhibited beneficial properties of these plants as an ingredient (unsaturated fatty acids) for the formulation of various functional foods and a source of natural antioxidant and antibacterial agents for drug, design and development.