Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of ethanol extract of tuberous roots of Amorphophallus campanulatus were studied. Disc diffusion technique was used to determine in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Cytotoxicity was determined against brine shrimp nauplii. | Turk J Biol 31 (2007) 167-172 © TÜB‹TAK Antibacterial, Antifungal and Cytotoxic Activities of Tuberous Roots of Amorphophallus campanulatus 1 2 2 Alam KHAN , Moizur RAHMAN , Shariful ISLAM 1 Department of Pharmacy, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 - BANGLADESH 2 Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 - BANGLADESH Received: Abstract: Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of ethanol extract of tuberous roots of Amorphophallus campanulatus were studied. Disc diffusion technique was used to determine in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Cytotoxicity was determined against brine shrimp nauplii. In addition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using serial dilution technique to determine antibacterial potency. The extract showed significant antibacterial activities against four gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus β-haemolyticus) and six gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi). The MIC values against these bacteria ranged from 16 to 128 µg/ml. The antifungal activity was found weak against the tested fungi. In cytotoxicity determination, LC50 of the extract against brine shrimp nauplii was µg/ml. Key Words: Amorphophallus campanulatus, ethanol extract, gram-positive, gram-negative, MIC, cytotoxicity, antifungal activity Introduction The frequency of life-threatening infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms has increased worldwide and is becoming an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients in developing countries (1). Although huge numbers of antimicrobial agents have been discovered, the pathogenic microorganisms are developing resistance against these agents day by day. In third world countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Nigeria, irrational .
