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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
In-vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and toxicity studies of Dioscorea esculenta l. (Dioscoreaceae) tuber extracts
Lourdu Pouline S, Leon Stephan Raj T, Sarath Kumar R and Raja P
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 293-302
Received on: 11/06/2026
Revised on: 22/07/2026
Accepted on: 07/08/2026
Published on: 10/10/2026
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Lourdu Pouline S, Leon Stephan Raj T, Sarath Kumar R and Raja P( 2026).
In-vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and toxicity studies of Dioscorea esculenta l. (Dioscoreaceae) tuber extracts
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 5), 293-302.
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Abstract
Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill is an ethnomedicinally important lesser yam widely used in traditional medicine across tropical Asia. Despite its historical use, scientific validation of its bioactive potential remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the phytochemical profiles and the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol tuber extracts of D. esculenta. Extracts were prepared by cold maceration and subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis. Antimicrobial activity was assessed against Escherichia coli (MTCC 433), Vibrio cholerae (MTCC 3906), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 424), Aspergillus niger (MTCC-872), and Aspergillus flavus (MTCC-2501) using agar well diffusion and broth microdilution (MTT-based MIC). Antioxidant capacity was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay, and cytotoxicity by Artemia salina brine shrimp lethality assay. Phytochemical screening detected tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, phenols, and steroids, predominantly in the ethanol extract. GC-MS identified four major compounds, with Cholest-5-en-3-ol (3?)-tetradecanoate as the dominant constituent (38.88%). The ethanol extract demonstrated the broadest antimicrobial spectrum, with inhibition zones up to 15.17 mm and MIC values as low as 1250 µg/mL. DPPH scavenging reached 90.51% at 800 µg/mL (IC??: 47.65 µg/mL). Brine shrimp assay LC?? values exceeded 1000 mg/L for all extracts, indicating comparatively lower acute lethality in the assay. D. esculenta tubers are a promising source of bioactive steroidal and tannin compounds with notable antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. These findings demonstrate that Dioscorea esculenta tubers possess significant bioactive potential with promising antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and low toxicity, highlighting their potential as a natural source of therapeutic compounds.
Keywords
Dioscorea esculenta, Phytochemical screening, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant capacity, Brine shrimp lethality.
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
