Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Mucuna pruriens (Velvet beans) callus culture with different hormonal combination in culture medium and leaf extracts was investigated for the maintenance of antimicrobial activity in in vitro level. The antibacterial activity was determined by the agar-well diffusion method against four different plants pathogenic bacterial species; they were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Various solvents such as chloroform, methanol and ethanol were used. The leaf, node and internode segments of the plant were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various growth regulators. Maximum callus formation was observed in MS medium amended with 1mg/L α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Plant cell callus culture extracts obtained from culture conditions were also bioactive and it can be a potential source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. Thus, the positive results suggest that the M. pruriensextracts should be further studied to determine the bioactive chemical compounds.

Key words: Mucuna pruriens, callus culture, NAA (α-Naphthalene acetic acid), antimicrobial activity.