Comparative Studies of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Acacia seyal Stem, Stem Wood and Stem Bark Dry Distillates

Acacia seyal is well known in the Sudanese traditional medicine for its therapeutic value. The pleasantly fragrant fumigate bath, locally known as Dokhan, mainly from the stem or stem wood of the plant is widely used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. The investigation and a composition of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the dry distillates (Dokhan) prepared by dry distillation method from the stem, stem wood and stem bark is the objective of the present study.  The results showed remarkable antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the dry distillates. The antioxidant activity assayed by using DPPH radical scavenging technique was found to be 94±0.01%, 95±0.03, 93±0.02 for the stem, its wood and bark respectively compared to Propylgallate, standard antioxidant agent 90±0.01. The disc diffusion procedure was used for antimicrobial activity assessment which revealed the highest activity in the stem wood dry distillate with inhibitory zone diameter ranging from 20 to 36 mm.