ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Angiosperms: Meliaceae) EXTRACTS
R. KAMALAMBIGESWARI *
Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Selaiyur, Chennai-73, India.
D. SHARMILA
Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Selaiyur, Chennai-73, India.
E. KOWSALYA
Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Selaiyur, Chennai-73, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The leaves of Azadirachta Indica were extracted with water and ethanol using soxhlet extraction. The various concentrations of the extract were tested for the presence of phytochemicals and also anti-bacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus luteus and Micrococcus roseus. The results showed the occurrence of wide group of phytochemicals such as Tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and steroids. The ethanol extract showed significant inhibitory activity against all the tested organisms and the highest was found against Micrococcus roseus and Escherichia coli with 9 and 10.5 mm.
Keywords: Neem extracts, ethanol, phytochemical screening, M. roseus, E. coli, B. licheniformis, M. luteus, S. aureus, MIC test