Efficacy of Methanolic Extract and its Fractions of some Tree Species for Potential in Vitro Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

The antibacterial activity of methanolic crude extract and its subsequent fractionation into ethyl acetate, n -butanol, chloroform and aqueous fractions from wood, bark and leaves of Ficus benghalensis L., Ficus retusa L., Dalbergia sissoo Roxb., Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, Populus nigra L. and Cupressus sempervirens L. grown in Egypt was investigated against some pathogenic bacteria. The antibacterial susceptibility test was evaluated by disc-diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentrations methods. The MCE and ethyl acetate fraction were found to possess maximum antibacterial activity. The ethyl acetate and n -butanol fractions from S. cumini presented good activity against tested bacteria. The wood chloroform fraction from F . retusa and P. nigra displayed some activity against the tested bacteria. Other trees had different antibacterial activity. The obtained results could be considered adequate for further studies for the isolation and identification of the active chemical components from the extracts for their antibacterial activity. These findings demonstrated that the species had great potential to be used as a bio-resource for natural health products and food preservation.