EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIAL OF EXTRACTS OF MOCHARAS (GUM OF BOMBAX MALABARICUM) AGAINST CERTAIN BACTERIAL STRAINS

Mocharas is the gum of the tree Bombax malabaricum DC which belongs to the family Bombaceae. In Unani system of medicine, it is used in the treatment of various infectious diseases. In the present study, various extracts of Mocharas (B. malabaricum) were tested for their antibacterial activity against some gram positive (Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Corynebacterium xerosis and Bacillus cereus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris) bacterial strains using Agar Well method and Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method. The potency of the extracts to microorganisms was compared with the standard drug, Ciprofloxacin (SD060) 5µg/disk for gram positive bacterial strains and Gentamicin (SD016) 10µg/disk for gram negative bacterial strains. Results were interpreted on the basis of Zone of Inhibition (ZOI), Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Hydroalcoholic and alcoholic extracts showed significant antibacterial activity than aqueous extract.