Antibacterial and antifungal screening on various leaf extracts of Barringtonia acutangula

Abstract

The various extracts of leaves of Barringtonia acutangula (Lecythidaceae) viz., n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and screened for their antibacterial activity against gram-positive (Staphyloccocus aureus, Entero cocci, Coagulase staphylococci) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Aceneto bacter, Pseudomonas, Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi) using Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and zone of inhibition by Agar Disc Diffusion method. The results of the preliminary investigation revealed the presence of terpenoids, steroids, tannins, saponins, flavanoids and glycosides. Among the crude extracts, n-Hexane extract showed good antibacterial activity against all tested organisms followed by chloroform (MIC = 100 μg/ml), Ethyl acetate (MIC = 100 μg/ml), ethanol and aqueous extracts (MIC = 166.67 μg/ml). Results on the zone of inhibition (mm) revealed n-Hexane extract showed the maximum antibacterial potential followed by ethyl acetate, ethanol, aqueous and chloroform. The extracts were subjected to antifungal activity using MIC method against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. The n-Hexane extract inhibited growth of pathogenic fungi at a lesser concentration followed by aqueous, ethanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate. The results reveal that the Barringtonia acutangula leaves possess potential antibacterial and antifungal activity. Further study can be extrapolated towards the isolation of the active constituents.