Abstract

Antibacterial and antifungal activities of methanolic extract and the isolated fraction of Plumeria alba Linn.

Author(s): R.Radha, Lata Sriram2, N.Narayanan

To examine the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities of methanolic extract and the isolated fraction of the plant Plumeria alba Linn. Antibacterial activity was assessed by standard dilution test using Mueller Hinton agar (MH)medium. The zone of inhibitionwas compared with that of Standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin (5g/disc) by disc diffusionmethod. TheAnti fungal activity was assessed by standard dilution technique using Sabouraud (SDA) dextrose agar medium. The results are compared with standard Clotrimazole (125mcg/ml). An attempt was made to isolate the fraction responsible for the antimicrobial property of the extract. Themethanol extract showed potential anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties comparable with standard Ciprofloxacin and Clotrimazole respectively against the organism examined. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract for antibacterial activity was 200mcg/ml. The isolated fraction was also found to possess antimicrobial properties similar to that of the crude extract. TheMIC of the fractionwas 133.33mcg/ml and the thin layer chromatographic study of the fraction showed it as triterpenes. The study suggests that the plant is promising for development of phytomedicine for antimicrobial properties.