Phytochemical analysis of crude extracts of Diospyros buxifolia by using GCMS and their potential antibacterial activity

The development of drug resistant microorganisms towards conventional antibiotics had caused serious worldwide health related problems that has swift the attention of
researches to discover novel antimicrobials from natural sources. Therefore, a study was aimed to assess the antibacterial activity of Diospyros buxifolia plant extracts. In addition, methanolic extracts of the plant were analyzed for their composition by GCMS and numerous phytochemicals have been identified. The antibacterial activity of aqueous and methanolic extracts of D. buxifolia leaves and stems were evaluated against Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherischia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacterial strains. Activity of the plant extracts were evaluated using disc diffusion assay and zones of inhibition were recorded in millimeters. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of plant extracts were also determined for extracts which have showed antibacterial activity by disc diffusion method. From the results of present study,
aqueous leaves extract exhibited maximum antibacterial activity against B. subtilis with MIC value of 15mg/ml but with low percentage of inhibition (50.97%). Methanolic leaves extract showed significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus with MIC
values of 7.5 mg/ml and 15 mg/ml (100%), and moderate antibacterial activity against K. pneumoniae with MIC value of 15 mg/ml (71.67%). Aqueous stems extract indicated that MIC value of 15 mg/ml (71.77%) against K. pneumoniae. Methanolic stems extract showed significant antibacterial activity against B. subtilis and S. aureus with MIC value of 15 mg/ml (100%), as well as against K. pneumoniae with MIC values of 7.5 mg/ml (100%) and 15 mg/ml (100%). However. the plant extracts not showed significant activity against E. coli compared to other bacterial strains have been tested. The result revealed that the D. buxifolia extracts showed to have the potency as an antimicrobial and supports the notion that plant extracts may play a vital role in drug discovery.