Potentials of Melastoma malabathricum Linn. Flower and Fruit Extracts as Antimicrobial Infusions

Siti Nurhadis Che Omar, Janna Ong Abdullah, Khairul Anuar Khairoji, Sieo Chin Chin, Muhajir Hamid

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2012.38136                

Abstract

Melastoma malabathricum Linn. is a shrub that belongs to the family Melastomataceae and a common herbal plant used in folk medicines to treat inflamed wounds. This study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the inhibitory activities of different concentrations of the M. malabathricum Linn. flower and fruit crude extracts against a variety of microorganisms. The inhibitory effects of both extracts were tested against the microorganisms using the disc diffusion method. The lowest concentrations of the extracts producing inhibition zones against the test microorganisms were used to determine their Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) and Minimum Microbicidal Concentrations (MMCs). Both crude extracts showed strong inhibitory activities against Gram-positive bacteria. The range of MIC values for the crude flower and fruit extracts on all the bacteria tested were 12.5 to 100.0 mg/ml. Overall, Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the crude extracts compared to Gram-negative species, potentiating a possible use of the extracts to inhibit or kill potential pathogens.

Keywords

Melastoma malabathricum Linn.; Flower; Fruit; Disc Diffusion Method; Minimal Inhibitory Concentration; Minimal Microbicidal Concentration

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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