The development of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensive drug-resistant (EDR) bacteria all around the world has created a dire need for the development and exploration of new antimicrobial agents and/or new alternative approaches. In recent years, plant-based products are prioritized to explore the potential antimicrobial compounds to treat the MDR and EDR bacteria. Recent studies showed that plants have the potential to tackle the menace of antimicrobial resistance. Plants are a rich source of phytochemicals (alkaloids, saponins, tannins, non-tannin phenols, flavonoids, steroids,
etc.) and are reported to have antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties
(Nethathe and Ndip, 2011). In the present study, a total of 3 g (18.45%) of methanolic crude extract was recovered from 20 g of
Citrus maxima leaves powder and used for further study. In phytochemical analysis, the methanol leaf extract of
C.
maxima was found to be positive for alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, tannin and phenol and flavonoids, whereas saponin, protein, free amino acids, steroids and carbohydrates remained absent.
Sapkota et al., (2020) also mentioned the presence of similar phytochemicals in the ethanol extract of
C.
maxima leaves. Similarly,
Showmiya and Ananthi (2018) also reported the availability of alkaloids, amino acids, carotenoids, carbohydrates, coumarins, flavonoids, sesquiterpene and steroids in ethanol extract of
C.
maxima leaves.
The methanol leaf extract of
C.
maxima was found to be a very good antibacterial agent
in vitro against the standard culture of
S.
aureus (ATCC 29213) with a diameter of zones of inhibition of 18 mm, 15 mm, 14 mm, 12 mm and 11 mm against 200 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL, 25 mg/mL and 12.5 mg/mL of the crude extract, respectively (Table 1,2, Fig 1). The MIC value of the same extract against
S.
aureus (ATCC 29213) was found to be 25 mg/mL. In the case of the clinical isolates, antimicrobial activity of methanol leaf extract of
C.
maxima was varied at 11.8±1.13 mm, 8.9±1.03 mm, 6.65±2.49 mm and 5.95±2.15 mm of zone of inhibition at the concentration of 200 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL, respectively. For all the isolates, the MIC value was recorded at 25 mg/mL. In an earlier study, the antimicrobial activity of methanol leaf extracts of
C.
maxima was recorded with 11.5 mm zone of inhibition at a concentration of 100 mg/mL against
S.
aureus (MTCC 3215) with the MIC value of 12.5 mg/mL
(Abirami et al., 2013). In another study from Odisha, India the antimicrobial activity of methanol leaf extract of
C.
maxima was recorded with a zone of inhibition of 21.82+0.44 mm at a concentration of 1 mg/mL and the MIC value was 30 mg/mL against
S.
aureus (MTCC 9886)
(Prusty and Patro, 2014). The antimicrobial activity of methanolic leaf extract of
C.
maxima might be due to the presence of alkaloids, phenolics, tannins, flavonoids and steroids, which are known to be good antimicrobial agents
(Nethathe and Ndip, 2011).
In the present study, strong biofilm production ability was exhibited by
S.
aureus (ATCC 29213). Among the clinical isolates 8 (40.0%), 5 (25.0%) and 7 (35.0%) strains were recorded as weak, moderate and strong biofilm producer. All the isolates were subjected to treatment with the plant extracts to determine their antibiofilm properties. As depicted in Table 3, the methanol leaf extract of
C.
maxima also exhibited an encouraging level (81%) of biofilm inhibition activity against
S.
aureus (ATCC 29213) at a concentration of 3.125mg/mL. Whereas, the clinical isolates exhibited percent inhibition ranging from 19.21±1.22% to 85.94±1.00% at the concentration of 100 mg/mL and 6.25 mg/mL, respectively. The inhibition capability of the extracts was in increasing order with the increased dilution and reached at highest at the concentration at 3.125 mg/mL (Table 2), which might be due to the improved capacity of penetration of the molecules at lower concentration through the biofilm substances. Beyond 3.125 mg/mL concentration, the amount of active molecules was not at the threshold level to inhibit the biofilms. To the best of our knowledge, no reports are available on antibiofilm activity of crude extract of
C.
maxima leaves. In another study from the same laboratory, we have reported the antibiofilm activity of crude extract of
Melastoma malabathricum against
E.
coli and
S.
aureus (Das et al., 2021). Although the active principles of the crude extracts of
C.
maxima leaves were not purified and analyzed independently for their antibiofilm activity, it is assumed that it may be due to the alkaloids, polyphenols and terpenoids present in the extracts. An alkaloid,
viz., berberine was found to be a very good biofilm inhibitor against
F.
nucleatum (MIC at 31.25 μg/mL),
P.
intermedia (MIC at 3.8 mg/mL) and
E.
faecalis (MIC at 0.5 mg/mL). Reserpine, another alkaloid was also exhibited significant antibiofilm property against
K.
pneumoniae at 0.0156 mg/mL
(Skogman et al., 2012). The ethanolic leaf extract of
Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb (
Pandanaceae) was reported to be a potent antibiofilm agent due to the presence of alkaloids
(Tsai et al., 2015) and polyphenols of cranberries were also exhibited very good antibiofilm activity
(Koo et al., 2006). The polyphenol-rich methanol extract of
Chilean propolis could able to prevent 50% biofilm formation by
S.
aureus,
P.
aeruginosa and E.
coli at a concentration of 0.2 μg/mL. Three terpenoid compounds,
viz., techtochrysin, negletein and quercitin-3-glucoside isolated from the leaves of
Scutellaria oblonga was found to be good antibiofilm agent against
B.
subtilis,
S.
aureus and
E.
coli (Rajendran et al., 2016). Terpenoid and flavonolignans from the seeds of
Silymum marianum were also could inhibit biofilm formation against
S.
aureus (Vimberg et al., 2015).
In the present study, it was observed that the methanolic crude extract of
C.
maxima leaves have significant antioxidant property. The antioxidant property was measured as the free radical scavenging potential of this extract by the DPPH method. The free radical scavenging potential of the extract was found to be 10.66±1.84% to 36.10±1.98%, which was comparatively lower than ascorbic acid (83.39 ± 0.13% to 89.76±0.24%) (Table 1). Although no data on antioxidant activity of methanol leaves extract of
C.
maxima are available but similar activities were recorded in the aqueous
(Feksa et al., 2018), hexane and ethyl acetate
(Fidrianny et al., 2016) leaves extract of the same plant by DPPH method. Free radicals are one of the important and integral parts of the host immune system and help in eliminating the pathogenic agent, particularly in the respiratory burst mechanism adopted by phagocytic cells. These free radicals are used to kill the pathogenic agent as well as damage the host cells and other cellular structures due to oxidative stress
(Marri and Richner, 2015). The antioxidant property of the extract can provide additional benefits to the patient by reducing oxidative stress/damage during treatment. The antioxidant property of the plant extract under the present study might be due to the presence of flavonoids, which are reported to be a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents
(Gutierrezgrijalva et al., 2018). Similarly, the phenolics of the aqueous, methanol and acetone extracts of
Hydnora africana root are also reported to have antioxidant activity besides their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities
(Wintola and Afolayan, 2015).