ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF FRUIT COAT (CALYX) OF WITHANIA SOMNIFERA AGAINST SOME MULTI DRUG RESISTANT MICROBES

The aim of present study is to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal activity of crude extracts of fruit coat (Calyx) in different polar solvents (hexane, petroleum ether, toluene, benzene, iso propyl alcohol, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone, ethanol, glacial acetic acid and water) of Withania somnifera in order to use it as a possible source for new antimicrobial substances against some pathogens. We evaluated the antibacterial and antifungal activity of crude extracts of fruit coat (Calyx) of Withania somnifera against some human as well as plant pathogen viz. Proteus merabilis, Klebsiella pnemoniae, Agerobacterium tumefaciens (plant pathogen) and one fungi Aspergillus niger. The dried and powdered fruit coats (Calyx) were successively extracted with a series of non polar to polar solvents using soxhlet assembly. The antimicrobial assay was done by both disc diffusion and broath dilution methods. Glacial acetic acid extract iso propyl alcohol and chloroform extract of W. somnifera show highest activity against A. tumefaciens (plant pathogen) to varying degrees, by most of the extracts. Gentamycin and ketoconazole were used as the standard antibiotics against bacteria and fungi. The extracts of W. somnifera also significantly inhibited the bacterial and fungal growth. The inhibitory effect is very identical in magnitude and comparable with that of standard antibiotics used.