BHARTI S. JHURANI AND B. L. JADHAV
Abstract
A mangrove species, Rhizophora apiculata, was collected from Murud coast, Mumbai, India and studied for the bactericidal properties and bioactivity guided fractionation. The cold and hot extracts of leaf, stem and roots were prepared in methanol, ethanol and water solvents and tested against a range of human pathogens. Bioassay has shown the presence of bioactive principles throughout the plant. The potency of various parts of the plant was in the order of stem > leaf > roots. Overall, methanol and ethanol stem extracts showed best activity with MIC upto 0.5 mg/ml against most of the test bacteria. Comparatively less activity was found in the aqueous extracts of these parts of the plant. In Bioactivity-guided fractionation, highest activity was registered in acetone and methanol fractions against most of the test microorganisms. In contrast, petroleum ether, chloroform, and aqueous fractions did not inhibit growth of any test pathogens