Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL, ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTY OF CANNABIS SATIVA

Vivek Singh, Richa Gupta and Amita Mittal*

Abstract

The study is aimed to investigate the phytochemical, antimicrobial screening and antioxidant activity of different extracts of Cannabis sativa. Phytochemical analysis was done to estimate the concentration of tannin, protein, phenolic, carbohydrates and antioxidants on wide spectrum of compounds extracted from Cannabis sativa. Acetone and Methanol extracts showed relatively more antimicrobial activity than aqua extracts by exhibiting larger zone of diameter against Agrobacterium, E.coli and Bacillus subtilis. Methanol extracts (45.8 %) exhibited more antioxidant activity than the standard ascorbic acid (42.3 %). IC50 value of 25.63μg/ml proves that Cannabis sativa has high antioxidant activity even at low concentrations. TLC examination revealed the presence of CBGA- Cannabigerolic acid, THCA- (2)-D9- (trans)-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A, CBDA- Cannabidiolic acid, CBD- Cannabidiol in acetone and methanol extracts of C.sativa. We performed HPLC to confirm the presence of various vital cannabinoids using specific buffer. Their time of elution confirmed the presence of Cannabidiol, Cannabinol, (-)-Δ9-THC and (-)-Δ9-THC acid. The results revealed that the plant extracts of C.sativa contains bioactive compounds having antimicrobial activity and so useful in human medicines.

Keywords: Cannabis sativa, Antioxidants, cannabinoid, IC50, HPLC.