title: Antimicrobial activity of Curcuma zedoaria and Curcuma malabarica tubers.
abstract: The antimicrobial activity of extracts of Curcuma zedoaria and Curcuma malabarica tubers was tested against six bacterial and two fungal strains using the agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods. Petroleum ether, hexane, chloroform, acetone and ethanol extracts exhibited antibacterial as well as antifungal activity. Acetone and hexane extracts of both tubers showed comparable antimicrobial activity as indicated by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, but other extracts of Curcuma malabarica showed significantly lower activity than those of Curcuma zedoaria. The MIC values for different strains and extracts ranged from 0.01 to 0.15 mg/ml in Curcuma zedoaria and from 0.01 to 0.94 mg/ml in Curcuma malabarica. Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive) was inhibited by Curcuma malabarica but not by Curcuma zedoaria. This study is the first report of the antimicrobial properties of Curcuma malabarica. The findings also support the use of Curcuma zedoaria tubers in traditional medicine for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections.
authors.affiliation: Division of Crop Utilization and Biotechnology, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695017, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Manju
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vimala
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sundaresan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nambisan
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D003470:Culture Media; D030024:Curcuma / Q000737:chemistry*; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D035281:Plant Tubers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D010936:Plant Extracts