Investigation of Bulb Extracts of Crinum jagus for Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities

This study investigates the bulb extracts of Crinum jagus for antimicrobial activities. The bulb samples were dried, ground and subjected to successive extraction using hexane, ethylacetate and methanol. The extracts were screened for activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klebisidlae pneumonae, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium notatum and Rhizopus stolonifer at concentrations between 6.25 and 200 mg/ml. Antimicrobial assays werecarried out using agar diffusion method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extracts was determined. The percentage yields obtained for the hexane, ethylacetate and methanol extracts of the bulbs are 0.28 %, 0.44% and 24.68 % respectively. Results showed that the methanolic extract had better antibacterial and antifungal activities than the other extracts. The methanol extract showed the highest antibacterial activity against S. aureus with a zone of inhibition of 28 mm at 200 mg/ml. Also, the methanol extract showed the highest antifungal activities against C. albicans, A. niger and P. notatum with a zone of inhibition of 20 mm at 200 mg/ml. The hexane and ethylacetate extracts had no activity against the microorganisms at 6.25 mg/ml.The methanol extract had the lowest Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 2.50 mg/ml against S. aureus, E. coli, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. The methanol extract could be a source of potent antimicrobial compounds. Keywords: Antibacterial, Antifungal, Crinum jagus, Agar diffusion, MI