CYTOTOXICITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA) LEAF EXTRACTSCYTOTOXICITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA) LEAF EXTRACTS

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the biological properties of Neem ( Azadirachtaindica ) leaves in terms of its cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. Methods: The antimicrobial activity of A. indica leaf extracts were evaluated against pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, B. subtilis, B. cereus, S. pneumonia, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by using agar disc diffusion method. The cytotoxic activity of the plant extracts was tested using Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay. Results: Acetone extract exhibited stronger inhibition against gram negative bacteria ( E. coli and P. aeruginosa) with MIC values of 10mg/ml and 25mg/ml respectively. In contrast, chloroform extract exhibited stronger inhibition against gram positive bacteria ( B. subtilis , B. cereus, S. pneumonia , and S. aureus) with the MIC value of 10mg/ml for all bacteria. The cytotoxicity that was evaluated based on the LC 50 values of the extracts. Results showed that acetone extract has higher cytotoxicity than chloroform extract with the LC 50 values of 6.00µg/ml and 11.92µg/ml respectively. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that both acetone and chloroform extracts of A. indica leaves have strong antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities.