Antimicrobial Activity of Butea Monosperma Lam. Gum

Gum of Butea monosperma is used to treat microbial and fungal infections in folk medicine. To validate this use, the in- vitro antimicrobial activity of petroleum ether and alcoholic extract of Butea monosperma gum was evaluated against various microbial strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella typhimurium , Pseudomonas aeuriogenosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae by using disc diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by agar dilution technique. Both extracts showed significant inhibition against reference gram positive bacteria and fungal strains. MIC value of petroleum ether extract against gram positive and fungal strains was 300 m g / ml and that of alcoholic extract was 200 m g / ml. No extract showed inhibitions against gram negative bacteria.