title: Preliminary phytochemical and antibacterial screening of Sesuvium portulacastrum in the United Arab Emirates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study describes the phytochemical profile and antimicrobial activity of Sesuvium portulacastrum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three extracts of S. portulacastrum obtained by extraction in aqueous, ethanolic and dichloromethane solvents, respectively, were compared for their antimicrobial activity and ethanolic extract further subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to find out the nature of the compounds responsible for the antimicrobial activity. The antibacterial activities were assessed by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zones, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to the aqueous and dichloromethane extract, the ethanolic extract showed better antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli, indicating its potential application related to noscomial infections. GC-MS results revealed 22, 23-Dihydrostigmasterol, Benzoic acid, 3,4,5-trihydroxy-(Gallic acid), (2R,3R)-(-)-Epicatechin and Capsaicin in the ethanolic extract to be the molecules responsible for the antimicrobial activity of S. portulacastrum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on analysis of antimicrobial components from S. portulacastrum in United Arab Emirates (UAE), and our results confer the utility of this plant extract in developing a novel broad spectrum antimicrobial agent.
authors.affiliation: Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, AlMamoura, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Amad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Azzawi
authors.forename: Alyaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alguboori
authors.forename: Mahmoud Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hachim
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Najat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Shaimaa
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sad