Original Articles
Nymathullah Sharief Md.1 and U
Abstract
Leaf extracts of Avicennia marina L. were prepared in ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol and ethanol. The crude extracts were screened for antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The antioxidant activity of all these extracts was done by ABTS method. Methanol infusions demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity. The antibacterial activity of all the extracts were evaluated against Enterobacter cloaca, Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecalis by agar well diffusion method and compared with the standard antibiotic gentamicin. The extent of inhibition by the leaf extracts diverge from one solvent system to the other. Among them methanol and ethanol extracts exhibited higher level of inhibition against the gram positive test cultures compared to gram negative test cultures employed. The present study reveals the potential of leaf extracts of Avicennia marina L as antioxidant and antibacterial agent.