Abstract

The antioxidant and antibacterial activities of ethanolic extracts of in vivo grownAsparagus officinalis cv. Mary Washington were investigated using superoxide dismutase, erythrocyte haemolysis and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil free radical scavenging methods. The measured antioxidant and antimicrobial potential were then compared to the activities offered by the ethanolic extracts of in vitro grown A. officinalis as well as ethanolic extract of undifferentiated callus cells of A. officinalisproduced on Murashige and Skoog medium containing 1.5 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine combined with 0.5 mg/l naphthalene acetic acid. The highest antioxidant capacity was obtained from the in vivo grown plant extract followed by in vitro grown plant extract in all three examined assays. Although, no antibacterial activity was detected from both in vivo and in vitro grown plant extracts in the disc diffusion antimicrobial assay, ethanolic extract of A. officinalis offered antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus.  

Key words: Antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, Asparagus officinalis.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: MS, Murashige and Skoog medium; BAP, 6-benzylaminopurine;NAA, 1-naphthalene acetic acid.