Yield, yield features, phytochemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Abutilon indicum cultivated under different fertilizers

Abstract

Abutilon indicum (Link) Sweet is an important medicinal plant that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and it is one of the novel crops being used in the pharmaceutical industry. Agricultural practices that produce high drug yield and desired secondary metabolites are in high demand by pharmaceutical-related industries; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the leaf and seed yield, crude oil yield, crude oil composition, total phenolic content, and the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of A. indicum Sweet grown using two fertilizer applications: a three-component fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK, 10-10-40) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN, 26% N). In addition, the results were compared to a control group in which no fertilizer was used. Two experiments were conducted in two consecutive years, and the highest leaf and seed yields, 74250.0 +/- 5440.0 kg ha(-1) and 1159.6 +/- 62.2 kg ha-1, respectively, were obtained from the CAN application in both years. Seed crude oil content varied from 13.6 to 14.7%, and linoleic acid (69.5%) was the major crude oil acid in the seed oil, which reached higher values under the NPK than the CAN application. Both fertilizers were found to promote the highest antioxidant activity in the roots (87.2%). In leaves, the highest phenolic compound content was observed in the control application (56.9 +/- 0.0 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract), and the highest flavonoid content was detected in the CAN application (107.4 mg Pyrocatechol g(-1) dry extract). Except the leaves extracts, the root and seed extracts of A. indicum Sweet had higher phenolic contents than the control application. For all of the analyzed extracts combined (leaf, root and seed), the fertilized plants had higher flavonoid contents than the control application. In addition, the root extracts of A. indicum Sweet exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pyogenes.