Antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of different solvent extracts of the medicinal plant Geum urbanum L.

Many Geum species are known to be rich in biologically active compounds and therefore could be a source of new natural products with pharmacological potential. The medicinal plant Geum urbanum L. is widespread in Bulgaria and has been used in folk medicine. In the present study, the methanol extracts of the roots and aerial parts of G. urbanum and their fractions (petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) were investigated for antibacterial and radical scavenging activity. The ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions inhibited the growth of Gram-positive pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria from the genus Staphylococcus (MIC EtOAc: 0.078 mg/ml aerial and 0.156 mg/ml roots; MIC n-BuOH: 0.156 mg/ml aerial and 1.25 mg/ml roots) and the species Bacillus cereus stronger than the other extracts and fractions tested (MIC EtOAc: 0.078 mg/ml aerial and 0.156 mg/ml roots; MIC n-BuOH: 0.156 mg/ml aerial and 0.078 mg/ml roots), and showed corresponding radical scavenging activity (EtOAc: EC(50) 1.5 µg/ml aerial, 0.8 µg/ml roots; n-BuOH: 4.5 µg/ml aerial; 3.7 µg/ml roots). Additionally, their total phenolic content was quantified (% of dry EtOAc fractions of roots 61%, of arial parts 32%; of dry n-BuOH fractions of roots 16%, of arial parts 13%). Seven compounds were isolated and identified spectroscopically from the ethyl acetate extract. Two acetylated ellagic acid rhamnosides were found for the first time in the genus Geum and three others, tormentic acid, niga-ichigoside F1, and 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid-4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, were newly detected for the species G. urbanum. Our results reveal that G. urbanum L. is a perspective medicinal plant and deserves further, more detailed studies. [Image: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13065-017-0343-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.