Total phenolic content, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity of Rumex crispus grown wild in Turkey

In the current study, we evaluated total phenolic content, antioxidant activity (by using beta-carotene bleaching assay), and antibacterial activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of the aerial part of the Rumex crispus L. (Polygonaceae) naturally grown in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The aerial part of the plant had high total phenolic content (56.31 mu g/mg DW). The antioxidant activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of the aerial part of R. crispus L., BHA, and BHT were found to be 92.35%, 95.49%, 98.16%, and 96.66%, respectively. Although the antioxidant activity of the aqueous and methanol extracts of R. crispus was lower than that of the BHA and BHT, the difference between these was not statistically significant, p < 0.05. The methanol extract possessed strong antibacterial activity against Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas corrugate, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, Salmonella typhimurium, Serratia liquefaciens, Vibrio cholerae, Yersinia frederiksenii, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Therefore, the aerial part of R. crispus can be used as an effective and safe source of antioxidants and antibacterial agent.