Indian medicinal herb: Antimicrobial efficacy of Mesua ferrea L. seed extracted in different solvents against infection causing pathogenic strains

Abstract

Objective: To study the antimicrobial potential of Mesua ferrea (M. ferrea) L. seed extracts employed for antimicrobial assay. Methods: The plant powder was extracted in seven different solvents of increasing polarities against a wide spectrum of microbial strains. Agar disc diffusion method was employed for antimicrobial assay at the concentration of 500 μg/disc. Gram-positive bacteria were most susceptible and yeast was most resistant. The pronounced antimicrobial activity was with the extracts in non-polar solvents than in polar ones. Results: The results were compared with the zones of inhibition produced by commercially available standard antibiotics. The lipophilic extracts of M. ferrea L. showed more activity towards Gram positive bacteria. Conclusion: These results indicate that activity could be attributed to the presence of essential oil, xanthones and coumarines present within the seed of this plant. These results indicate that M. ferrea extract could be useful in fighting emerging drug-resistant microorganisms.

Keywords

• Antimicrobial activity
• Mesua ferrea L.
• Seed
• Organic solvents
• Microorganism