PHARMACOGNOSTIC CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF IRIS AITCHISONII (BAKER) BOISS. AGAINST MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT PATHOGENS

M SULAIMANI; I SULAIMANI

doi:10.64013/bbasr.v2026i1.137

Authors

M SULAIMANI Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan
I SULAIMANI Department of Zoology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64013/bbasr.v2026i1.137

Keywords:

Iris aitchisonii, Iridaceae, phytochemical screening, antimicrobial resistance, agar-well diffusion

Abstract

In 2019, antimicrobial resistance resulted in approximately 4.95 million deaths worldwide, and South Asia bore the brunt of these deaths. Iris aitchisonii (Baker) Boiss. is utilized by Northern Pakistanis for traditional medical purposes; however, there are no available pharmacognostic standards or data regarding the antimicrobial properties of the species. Stem, flower, and tunic bulb of authenticated I. aitchisonii (voucher 6095) were shade-dried and extracted using distilled water, ethanol, and methanol. In addition to recording organoleptic, microscopic, and micromorphometric characteristics, the constituents were screened qualitatively. The activity of the extracts against six bacterial and three fungal strains was evaluated by using agar-well diffusion methods, comparing the activity to levofloxacin, erythromycin, and terbinafine as controls. Phytotoxicity was tested using Lemna minor with the extracts at 10–1000 µg/mL. All assays were conducted in triplicate. Each of the 135 samples was tested for constituents and found to contain detectable amounts of constituents in 46 of the total number of tests, with the highest quantity found in the stem (17 out of 45 tests). In each of the 18 extract-organism combinations, the zone of inhibition was smaller than or equal to the control; the largest zone of inhibition was seen with flower extract against Proteus mirabilis (26.66 mm ± 3.51 mm; difference = -5.34mm, 95% CI = -22.11 to 11.43; p = 0.371) and the smallest zone of inhibition was seen with bulb extract against Salmonella typhi (-19.00 mm 95% CI -23.16 to -14.84; p = 0.001). All of the nine tested antifungal comparisons exhibited zones of inhibition smaller than the control (p ≤ 0.013). Antifungal phytotoxicity was found to be dependent upon concentration, with a maximum phytotoxicity of 77.77%. Extracts showed measurable but sub-comparator antimicrobial activity and concentration-dependent phytotoxicity. Interpretation is limited by triplicate testing, crude extracts, and diffusion-based endpoints; no therapeutic use is supported. The standards reported enable authentication; fractionation and minimum inhibitory concentration testing are required next.

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