Antimicrobial Activity of Different Extracts of Pongamia pinnata

Plant material was collected from Western Ghats, India, shade-dried and extracted successively with different polarity solvents of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate. The extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and against a fungal species using the disc-diffusion method. The antimicrobial activity of extracts of Pongamia pinnata was tested against bacterial strains such as Bacillus subtilis (NCIM 2117), Escherichia coli (NCIM 2079), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCIM 2036), Staphylococcus aureus (NCIM 2079) and a fungal species Candida albicans (NCIM 3100). In both extracts of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate, the extracts from leaf, bark and seeds showed an inhibition zone on B. subtilis and S. aureus cultures. Extract from the seeds of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate showed maximum inhibition zone on B. subtilis, while the leaf extract of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate showed comparable activity against S. aureus. E. coli and C. albicans were unaffected by any of the extracts of P. pinnata, except for the bark extract of petroleum ether. These findings also support the use of this plant in traditional medicine for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________