In Vitro Study on the Antimicrobial Activity of Curcuma Longa Rhizome on Some Microorganism

The present study investigates the antimicrobial activity, phytochemical and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Curcuma longa rhizome extract on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus salivarius. Methanol, and chloroform extracts of the plant rhizome were collected and obtained by standard methods. All the solvent extracts were evaporated to dryness, dry residues were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and tested for antibacterial activity. The plant extract was distinctively applied as antibacterial agent through agar well diffusion method on aseptically prepared nutrient agar. It was determined in the result of this study, thatthe chloroform extract of Curcuma longa rhizome was found to show more activity than the methanol extract on all the isolates. The inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of the chloroform extracts ranged between 7-34mm while ethanol extract ranged between 3-13mm. The MIC varied between 1.56 - 3.125mg/ml and 1.56 -6.25mg/ml for methanol and chloroform extract respectively while Staphylococcus epidermid is showed the least sensitivity of all the isolates The chloroform extracts exhibited higher inhibitory activity on the test organisms than the positive control ciprofloxacin. Phytochemical analyses of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, saponins and flavonoids. According to this study, Curcuma longa rhizome can be used for the treatment of diseases caused by Staphylococcus sppas well as Streptococcus salivarius