Abstract

Antibiotic activity of Lunularia cruciata was tested against five pathogenic bacteria (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Xanthomonas phoseoli, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilisand Erwinia chrysanthemi) and three pathogenic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Pyricularia oryzae). The plant extract was prepared in various solvents (ethanol, methanol, acetone, chloroform and water). All the crude organic extracts of L. cruciata showed substantial antibacterial activity while antifungal activity was not found against any of the fungal strains tested. The aqueous extract of the plant did not exhibit any antimicrobial activity. The ethanol extract showed maximum growth inhibition against the test microorganisms (A. tumefaciens, X. phoseoli, E. coli and B. subtilis; ZOI = 10 to 20 mm) followed by methanol, acetone and chloroform extracts (ZOI = 8 to 12 mm). The inhibitory activity of these extracts was found very effective against bacteria compared to standard antibiotic ampicillin (10 mcg) used as positive control.

Key words: Antibacterial activity, Lunularia cruciata, bryophyte, ampicillin, azithromycin.