ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF FALOAK (STERCULIA QUADRIFIDA R. BR) BARK: A PROMISING NATURAL ANTIBACTERIAL CANDIDATE

This research aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of faloak bark extract and identify the specific components that exhibit antibacterials properties. The stem bark of the faloak tree was macerated in a solvent of 96 ethanol and it was subjected to fractionation using the liquid – liquid method, using solvents with different polarities. The Kirby Bauer method was employed for the in vitro antibacterial test, utilising Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli FNCC 0091. Identification of the most active fraction in bacteria inhibition was achieved by analysing its active compounds through LC-HRMS. Specifically, the methanol fraction exhibited the highest TPC and TFC values, measuring at 51.835 µg/mL GAE and 426.623 µg/mL QE, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction was highly effective in inhibiting the bacteria. According to the LC-HRMS findings, some compounds were identified to have the potential to inhibit bacteria. They were fraxetin, quercetin, luteolin, gallic acid, kaempferol-7-O-glucoside, naringenin, kaempferol, trifolin, corchorifatty acid, palmitic acid and oleamide. Fraxetin has shown significant effectiveness in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. © 2024, Romanian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences. All rights reserved.