Phytochemical Study of the Dichloromethane Silk Extract of Zea Mays L. and In Vitro Biological Activities Evaluation of its Crude Extracts

Chang, Yuin (2020) Phytochemical Study of the Dichloromethane Silk Extract of Zea Mays L. and In Vitro Biological Activities Evaluation of its Crude Extracts. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Corn silk is the stigma from the female flower of maize, which had been used as a remedy for diuresis and urinary tract ailments. The objectives of this study are to identify the antibacterial and xanthine oxidase inhibitory properties of corn silk crude extracts, and to isolate the phytochemicals from the corn silk. The antibacterial activity of corn silk extract was tested using disc diffusion assay, while the xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity was determined based on uric acid formation measured at 295 nm. The chromatography and spectroscopy methods were used for the isolation and identification of chemical compounds. The crude extracts showed insignificant antibacterial properties against E. faecium, S. aureus and A. baumannii. The highest xanthine oxidase inhibition was shown by ethyl acetate crude (86.60 ± 9.37%), which was comparable with the percentage of inhibition demonstrated by the positive control (allopurinol) (85.41 ± 8.31%), followed by dichloromethane crude (60.20 ± 4.80%) and ethanol crude (39.97 ± 9.56%). Lastly, two compounds were isolated from the dichloromethane extract of corn silk, which are β-sitosterone and β-sitosterol. The NMR data obtained were compared with literature data for the confirmation of the structures. The β-sitosterone is first time isolated from corn silk. The results showed that the compounds from corn silk have the potential to be developed as anti-gout medication.