Arowosegbe, Stephen Olu <br/><br/>
THE ANTIMICROBIAL, ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CURCUMA LONGA PLANT-TURMERIC / 
STEPHEN OLU AROWOSEGBE; SUPERVISOR: PROF. DR. HATICE ERKURT 
 - 68 sheets;  31 cm.  Includes CD 
<br/><br/>Thesis (MSc) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Bioengineering Department 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliography (sheets 56-60) 
<br/><br/> ABSTRACT<br/>Curcuma longa also known as turmeric or red turmeric is a herb or spice belonging<br/>to the ginger family Zingiberaceae. This plant is known to have originated from<br/>India before spreading to other parts of the world, and according to various research<br/>is known to contain various phytochemicals which are responsible for its different<br/>pharmacological and ethno medicinal properties. This medicinal plant can be found<br/>in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as dried powder, and is used in Cyprus as<br/>spice in various dishes and as an ingredient for organic facial treatment. The aim of<br/>this study was to investigate and compare the antimicrobial activity of the ethanol<br/>and methanol extracts of Curcuma longa against bacterial pathogens Escherichia coli<br/>and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and fungus Aspergillus niger as well as the minimum<br/>inhibitory concentration of both extracts against the microbial pathogens. The<br/>antioxidant activity of both extracts of turmeric was also investigated using the 2, 2- Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay and Gas chromatography mass spectrometry<br/>technique was employed to determine the phytochemical composition of both<br/>extracts of turmeric. The results obtained after each procedure was analysed using<br/>Microsoft excel 2010 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The results<br/>obtained showed that both extracts of turmeric demonstrated variable antibacterial<br/>activity against the two bacterial pathogens, with the ethanol extract having the<br/>highest antibacterial activity against both bacterial pathogens with zones of inhibition<br/>ranging from 3 to 11 between the various concentrations at different times when<br/>compared with the methanol extract. Additionally, both extracts also demonstrated<br/>minimal inhibitory concentration activity against both bacterial pathogens. The<br/>lowest minimal inhibitory concentration observed after 24 and 72 hours against<br/>Escherichia coli were 0.078mg/ml and 0.156mg/ml for the ethanol extract and<br/>0.156mg/ml and 0.625mg/ml for methanol extract respectively. Whereas, the lowest<br/>minimal inhibitory concentration observed after 24 and 72 hours against<br/>Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 0.078mg/ml and 0.156mg/ml for the ethanol extract<br/>and 0.156mg/ml and 0.325mg/ml for the methanol extract. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay experiment results indicated that both turmeric<br/>extracts had antioxidant activity, with the ethanol extract at concentration 15mg/ml<br/>after 60 minutes of incubation having the highest antioxidant activity of 83.151<br/>percent scavenging effect. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of<br/>both extracts of turmeric showed the presence of constituent with pharmacological<br/>and ethnomedicinal activity such as 1,8-Cineole, ar-Curcumene, Zingiberene, Beta- Sesquiphellandrene, Beta-Tumerone, 8,9,9,10,10,11-Hexafluoro-4,4-dimethyl-3,5- dioxatetracyclo[5.4.1.0(2,6).0(8,11)]dodecane, Octadecamethylcyclononasiloxane. Keywords: Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Curcuma Longa, Minimum Inhibitory<br/>Concentration, Phytochemicals, Zingiberaceae 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Antioxidant--Dissertations, Academic<br/>Phytochemicals--Dissertations, Academic<br/>Zingiber--Dissertations, Academic