PARTIAL PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY FROM THE WOOD EXTRACT OF MANGROVE PLANT CERIOPS DECANDRA

Abstract

The development of resistance towards the antibioties in use today has been a source of growing concern in the modem healthcare system around the world. To counter this major threat, there is an urgent need for discovery of new antimicrobials. Many plants, like mangroves, possess highly diversified list of natural phytochemicals which are known to have wide range of bioactivities. These phytochemicals can be good sources for the discov ay of new drugs. In this study, we repon the partial phytochemical characterization and antimicrobial activities of a semi-punified fraction isolated from the wood tissue of Ceriops decandra, a mangrove plant. This fraction named CD-3PM was chromatographically separated from C. devandra wood extract and was sabjected to dif ferent spectral analyses to determine its partial chemical nature. The structural investigation indicates the pres ence of two diterpenoids, i) 38, 13-Dihydroxy-8-abietaen-7-one and ) 38-Hydroxy 8,13-ahietadion-7-one in the CT-3PM fraction. The antimicrobial potential of this fraction was evalumed by microdilution-MTT assay against several organisms. Among the nine microorganisms found to be sensitive to the CD-3PM fraction, sis organisms are reported to be pathogenic in nature. The CD-3PM fraction with broad spectrum antimicrobial efficacy revealed the presence of two diterpenoids and possesses potential applications in drug discovery process and food processing industries.