Comparative Antimicrobial Study of Cordia macleodii Hook

Abstract

This study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal potential of Bark and leaves of Cordia macleodii Hook. Antibacterial activity of Ethanolic extracts of the Bark and leaves was carried out against four bacteria - Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Comamonas testosteroni and Pseudomonas plecoglossicida. The antifungal activity of the extracts was evaluated on three common pathogenic fungi Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The testing was done by the agar plate method. Zones of inhibition of extracts were compared with that of different standard like Ciprofloxacin for antibacterial activity and fluconazole for antifungal activity. The extracts showed antibacterial and antifungal activities comparable with that of standard against the organisms tested. Only bark extract of Cordia macleodii Hook showed positive results for two bacteria Comamonas testosteroni and Pseudomonas plecoglossicida out of all tested. The percentage inhibition value were found to be in range of 6mm to 9mm aginst Pseudomonas plecoglossicida and 7mm at the concentration of 100mg/ml of extract against Comamonas testosteroni but the other two concentration 50 and 25mg/ml showed no effect. The results showed that the inhibition of the bacterial growth was more pronounced on Pseudomonas plecoglossicida and Comamonas testosteroni as compared to the other tested organisms. The extract did not show the antifungal activity against all tested fungus. Ke words: Antibacterial, antifungal, Cordia macleodii Hook.