Antimicrobial Activities Of Punica granatum Extracts Against Oral Microorganisms

Methanolic and aqueous extract of Pomegranate rind, seed and pith was evaluated for its antimicrobial activity against selected oral microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeuriginosa and Candida albicans. The oral pathogens were cultured in Mueller-hinton media and then paper disks containing the extracts at concentration of 4μg/ml, 8μg/ml, 12μg/ml and 100μg/ml were inserted on the media. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using disk inhibition method. The effects of the four different concentrations of different parts of pomegranate against oral microorganisms were compared with the positive control using ANOVA. Methanolic Rind Extract (MRE) and Aqueous Rind Extract (ARE) at the concentration of 100mg/ml were found to be effective against the selected oral microorganisms compared to diluted extracts. The study suggests that pomegranate rind extract can be used as an effect treatment against oral diseases.