invitro anti-bacterial and anti-oxidative activity of glycyrrhizaglabra l. from north of golestan province

abstract       background and objective: glycyrrhizaglabra l. is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in golestan province that is known for its anti-inflammatory, carminative, antiviral, anti-infection and anti-ulcer properties in iranian traditional medicine. this study aimed to assess the anti-bacterial and anti-oxidative activity of g. glabrafrom the golestan province.         methods:  the rip root of the plant was collected in autumn 2013. the ethanolic extract of the plant was prepared by maceration method. the anti-oxidative property of the plant was assessed by total antioxidant capacity (tac), reducing power (rp) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging capacity assays. the anti-bacterial activity was assessed using agar-well diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) assay.         results: the ethanolic extract of g. glabrahad relatively high anti-oxidative activity with ic50 value of 130 µg/ml, especially in the dpph method. the extract also exhibited high anti-bacterial activity against the following gram-positive bacteria: staphylococcus aureus (21.1±0.7 mm), staphylococcus epidermidis (19.6±0.2 mm), bacillus subtilus (19.3±0.6 mm), followed by escherichia coli (12.1±0.8 mm), enterococcus faecalis (13.2±0.1 mm) and kelebsiellapneumoniae (11.5±0.4 mm) with mic values in the range of 31 - 132 mg. ml-1.          conclusion: according to results, the root extract of g.glabrais a good source of antioxidant compounds with suitable anti-bacterial activity, which can be used as natural anti-infection and anti-inflammatory agent for treatment of many diseases.