Rhus aucheri Boiss, an Omani herbal medicine: Identification and in-vitro antioxidant and antibacterial potentials of its leaves' extracts

Rhus aucheri Boiss is a popular Omani herbal medicinal plant used as an antiseptic, astringent and homeostatic. In this study we evaluated, the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of R. aucheri Boiss leaves using an in-vitro model. Three green solvents, i.e. water ethanol and aqueous glycerol, were employed to access the extraction of polyphenols and flavonoids. We found the highest polyphenols and flavonoids extraction for aqueous glycerol extracts The antioxidant capacity was assessed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical reducing abilities of the three liquid crude extracts (LCEs) and was recorded to be high in water and aqueous glycerol LCEs (91 and 83.1%) respectively. The screening of antibacterial potential was gauged against gram positive bacterial strains namely Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC® 29213™), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC® 25923™) and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC® 29212™) as well as one gram negative strain of Escherichia coli. The three LCEs were found to be fairly active against the microbial strains tested. Further, we recorded the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the leaves of R. aucheri Boiss leaves to underpin the botanical characters of the leaves so that any future studies of this plant will have a sound basis.