Abstract:
Medicinal plants contain bioactive compounds (phytochemicals) that can be used for curing or
preventing different diseases and precursors for the synthesis of useful drugs. In Ethiopia
Cucumis ficifolius A.Rich traditionally used to heal a varieties of diseases such as wound,
elephantiasis, asthma, goiter, gastric, liver disease, birth difficult, internal parasite, and skin
disease. Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich is abundant and widely used in traditional medicine to treat
wound , asthma , goiter, gastric, liver disease, birth difficult, internal parasites and skin disease
The purpose of this study was to investigate phytochemicals, and evaluate antioxidant and
antibacterial activities of leave extracts of Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich that extracted using
successive solvent extraction for 72 hrs. The antioxidant potentials of methanol, chloroform and
n-hexane extract of leave of Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich were analyzed by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-
picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP).
The percentage yields of n-hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts were 2.012%, 7.901% and
13.811% respectively. Methanol extracts of leave Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich have higher
percentage of scavenging capacity than chloroform and n-hexane extract. Methanol, chloroform
and n-hexane extracts were tested against two-gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus,
Streptococcus pyogenes) and two-gram negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia)
bacteria by using agar diffusion method. All the extracts showed growth inhibition against to all
the tested bacteria. The antioxidant potential and antibacterial activity increased with increasing
concentration of leave extracts of Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich.
