Abstract:
Medicinal plants have been the main focus of natural product research. However, recent research has revealed that lower plants
including bryophytes are also a major resource of biologically active compounds with novel structures. Sri Lanka is considered as a
biodiversity hotspot with a higher degree of endemism flora including bryophytes. In this study, different species of bryophytes
were investigated for their antimicrobial and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities. (e air-dried plant materials of 6 different
bryophyte species, Marchantia sp., Fissidens sp., Plagiochila sp., Sematophyllum demissum, Hypnum cupressiforme, and
Calymperes motley, were subjected to sequential cold extraction with 3 different organic solvents. All three types of organic crude
extracts were subjected to screening of antimicrobial bioassays using the disc-diffusion method against 3 bacterial strains and 1
fungal strain. According to the results obtained, 6 extracts out of 18 showed antibacterial activity for tested Gram-positive bacteria
and 1 active against Gram-negative bacteria. Two extracts showed activity against the pathogenic fungus strain. Extracts from
some plants were active against tested bacterial as well as fungal species. TLC-based bioautographic study was carried out to
identify the corresponding active bands which is useful for active compound isolation. Furthermore, the ethyl acetate extracts were
subjected to evaluate alpha-amylase inhibitory activity where three extracts out of six extracts showed moderate inhibitory activity
for alpha-amylase with IC50 ranging 8–30%.
