PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY STUDIES OF ANNONA SQUAMOSA FRUIT

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of lyophilized powder of Annona squamosa fruit. Phytochemical screening was carried out to detect the presence of major phytoconstituents. Methods : Annona squamosa fruit pulps were lyophilized and made into powder, which was diluted with 0.1% DMF. This extract was tested against gram positive and gram negative bacteria employing Agar well diffusion method. Results: The results showed that fruit extract possess antimicrobial activity against microbial isolates. The antibacterial activity increased with increase in mass of fruit extract, which was evidenced through zone of inhibition. The fruit extract showed significant activity when compared with standard positive antibiotic viz. Chloramphenicol (10 µg /disc). The preliminary phytochemical screening tests confirmed the presence of compounds such as alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins and glycosides as major constituents. Conclusion: Based on the results it is concluded that Annona squamosa has good antimicrobial activity against human pathogens and is also rich in phytochemical constituents.