ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTY OF TAMARIND (Tamarindus indica) CRUDE EXTRACTS AGAINST SELECTED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

<strong>Abstract</strong>: Infectious diseases are still the primary concern for all mankind despite the discovery of antibiotics due to the rise in antibiotic resistance, and plants proved to be sources of inspiration of novel drug compounds from their secondary metabolites. Therefore the present study aimed to investigate the effect of the crude extracts from the leaves, seeds and fruit pulp of Tamarindus indica, against selected pathogenic bacteria as the plant is reported to have uncountable use in traditional medicine. Maceration technique was employed for subsequent extraction to get crude extracts from each of the plant samples using acetone and ethanol as solvents. Antibacterial activity of each crude extract was evaluated at a concentration of 100, 200 and 300 mg/ml by disk diffusion method. Tetracycline, at 2.5 mg/ml and 1 ml of Tween 20 were used as positive and negative control, respectively. Through serial dilution starting from 300 to 4.6875 mg/ml, minimum inhibitory concentration was also determined. The finding in this study indicated that the acetone and ethanol crude extract of the leaf and fruit pulp have antibacterial activity at all concentrations on both S. aureus and K. pneumoniae, and showed significant activities when compared to the negative control (P = 0.00), and not significantly different from the drug (P &gt; 0.05). However, K. pneumoniae showed more sensitivity to the extracts than S. aureus did. The MIC value of leaf acetone extract on S. aureus and K. pneumoniae were 18.75 and 9.375 mg/ml, respectively, whereas on the ethanol extract, both showed MIC value of 18.75 mg/ml. The acetone and ethanol fruit pulp extract showed MIC value of 18.75 and 9.375 mg/ml on S. aureus and K. pneumoniae, respectively. On the other hand, crude extracts from the seed did not show any effect on both test bacteria. The outcomes of this study indicated that the leaves and fruit pulp have antibacterial properties; however, further study on the mechanism of actions and other related properties is required for the safe use of this plant in relation to the health problems.