title: In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial action of tea: the commonest beverage of Asia.
abstract: The methanolic extract of leaves of Camellia sinensis (L) O. KUNTZE was screened for antimicrobial property against 111 bacteria comprising 2 genera of Gram positive and 7 genera of Gram negative bacteria. Most of these strains were inhibited by the compound at 10-50 microg/ml level and few strains were sensitive even at lower concentrations (5 microg/ml). The bacteria could be arranged in the decreasing order of sensitivity towards the compound in the following manner: Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Bacillus spp., Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibacterial activity of compound could also be confirmed in vivo. When it was given to Swiss strain of white mice at different dosages (30, 60 microg/mouse), it could significantly protect the animals challenged with 50 MLD of Salmonella typhimurium NCTC 74. According to Chi square test the in vivo data were highly significant (p<0.001).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India.
authors.forename: Durba
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bandyopadhyay
authors.forename: Tapan Kumar
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Asish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
authors.forename: Jeyaseeli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lourduraja
authors.forename: Sujata Ghosh
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Dastidar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium; D013662:Tea
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea