Raymond C Jagessar
University of Guyana, Guyana
Title: Antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic and aqueous extract of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), in the absence and presence of transition metal salts
Biography
Biography: Raymond C Jagessar
Abstract
The aqueous and ethanolic extract of Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) was investigated in the absence and presence of transition metal salts using the Disc Diffusion Assay under aseptic conditions. For the ethanolic extracts, 1-3, the highest AZOI of 153.9mm2 was induced by the sample (1), 0.015g/ml of the extract against C. albicans. The lowest AZOI of 15.9mm2 was also induced by sample 3, 0.1g/ml of the ethanolic extract against K. pneumoniae. There seems to be a general increase in AZOI as the concentration of ethanolic extract increases. From the ethanolic extract, a white isolate crystallized and its antimicrobial activity was investigated at an increasing concentration (sample 4-5). For sample 4-5, the highest AZOI of 149.5mm2 was induced by the aqueous solution at a concentration of 0.026g/ml against P. aeruginosa. The lowest AZOI of 30.7mm2 was induced by the white isolate at a concentration of 0.052g/ml against K. pneumoniae. For sample 6 and 7, 0.1g of Zn (OAc)2.2H2O in 10ml aqueous extract and 1.0g of Zn(OAc)2.2H2O in 10ml of aqueous extract, it was observed that the highest AZOI of 67.2mm2 was observed against E. coli. whereas the lowest AZOI of 21.6mm2 was observed against C. albicans. The AZOI induced by sample 8, 1.0g of Zn (OAc)2.2H2O in 10ml of aqueous solution is greater than sample 7, suggesting that Zn(OAc)2.2H2O augment the antimicrobial activity of the aqueous passion fruit extract. Antimicrobial selectivity was also observed. For example, against S. aureus, sample (1) exhibit AZOI of 32.2mm2 whereas against C. albicans, AZOI of 153.9mm2 was observed. For all experiments conducted, antimicrobial activity seems to be less than that of the standard antibiotics: Ampicillin and Nystatin. Nevertheless, the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of green passion fruit can be used as a natural antibiotic against a range of bacteria-induced diseases.