Antibacterial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Punica granatum L. bark.

For thousands of years, Punica granatum L. has been used in traditional medicine all over the world and predate the introduction of antibacterial drugs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Punica granatum L. bark obtained by decoction and maceration. The different extracts of Punica granatum L. (Lythraceae) bark have been tested for antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus stearothermophilus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) by disc diffusion method. The ethanolic macerate extract showed the strong in vitro antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with zone inhibition of 24.4 mm. However, the results tests by disc diffusion method revealed the effectiveness of ethanolic decoctate against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus stearothermophilus) with diameter zone of inhibition varying with 21.1mm and 23.75 mm respectively.

Evaluation of antifungal activity of some oils from Algerian medicinal plants against Aspergillus flavus strain produced aflatoxins.

Antifungal activity of the oils extracts of Citrullus colocynthis L., Linum usitatissimum L., Nigella sativa L. collected from Bechar Department in the region of (Algeria) has been evaluated in this present study. Two methods were used in this investigation: radial growth on solid medium and biomass on liquid medium. The oils extracts were obtained by Soxhlet extraction of the seeds part. The values of physicochemical indices of our oils such as acid, acidity and peroxide were also determined. The results of the antifungal potency revealed that the seeds oils exhibited different degrees of inhibition against Aspergillus flavus MTTC 2799. However, evaluation of radial growth on Potatoes Dextrose Agar (PDA) solid medium showed slight mycelial growth proportional to oil concentration added to the medium. Antifungal indices investigation allowed as to put our oils in the order of effectiveness: L. usitatissimum (29%) > C. colocynthis (26.5 %) > N. sativa (18.75 %). Evaluation of Aspergillus flavus biomass production on Potatoes Dextrose Broth (PDB) on liquid medium revealed that the studied oils produced a variable weight reduction (C. colocynthis and L. usitatissimum at concentration superior to (80μl/ml). On the contrary, N. sativa oil reduced Aspergillus flavus biomass at concentrations of 80μl/ml and 100μl/ml.