Antibacterial Activity of the Dried Inner Bark of Madhuca indica J.F. GMEL

The different organic extracts of the dried inner bark of Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel. (Family - Sapotaceae) was investigated for its possible antibacterial activity against four human pathogenic bacterial strains. The plant extracts were evaluated against some gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains like Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli was carried out by the disk diffusion technique. The pattern of inhibition varied with the solvent used for extraction and the microorganism tested. Among all the extracts the methanolic extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against most of the tested microbes. The most susceptible microorganism was Staphylococcus aureus (24 mm zone of inhibition in methanolic extract) followed by Bacillus subtilis (20 mm zone of inhibition in methanolic extract) again followed by Escherichia coli (15 mm zone of inhibition in methanolic extract) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (10 mm zone of inhibition in methanolic extract). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of extracts and antibiotics were comparatively determined by agar dilution method. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of different extracts was carried out.