Antibacterial activity and toxicity of Terminalia Ferdinandia (Kakadu Plum) fruit extract
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Cock, Ian
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Introduction: Terminalia ferdinandiana (TF) is an endemic Australian native plant long used as a food and a medicinal agent by Indigenous Australians. Yet the medicinal bioactivities of this plant are poorly studied. Methods: TF extracts were prepared with various solvents, dried and then re-dissolved in water. Antibacterial activity of these TF preparations was determined by growth inhibition against a panel of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Toxicity (LC50) was assessed by the Artemia franciscanna (brine shrimp) nauplii bioassay. Results: All extracts displayed antibacterial activity in the disc diffusion assay. The methanol extract proved to have the broadest specificity, inhibiting the growth of 13 of the 14 bacteria tested (93%). Individual MIC's were as low as 30 姯ml for some bacteria. The deionised water extract inhibited the growth of 11 of the 14 bacteria tested (79%). The ethyl acetate, chloroform and hexane extracts inhibited 21%, 29% and 14% respectively. TF methanolic extracts were equally effective against Gram-positive (100 %) and Gram-negative bacteria (90 %). All other extracts were more effective at inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria. The water, ethyl acetate, chloroform and hexane extracts inhibited the growth of 100, 50, 50 and 50 % Gram-positive bacteria respectively. In contrast, they inhibited the growth of 70, 10, 20 and 0 % Gram-negative bacteria respectively. All TF extracts were either non-toxic (ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane) with no significant increase in mortality induction, or of low toxicity (LC50 >1000 姯ml) (methanol, deionised water) in the Artemia fransiscana bioassay. Conclusions: The low toxicity of the TF extracts and their inhibitory bioactivity against a range of bacteria validate traditional Aboriginal usage of the Kakadu plum and indicates its medicinal potential as well as its value as a rich source of natural vitamin C.
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© The Author(s) 2011. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. For information about this conference please refer to the conference’s website or contact the authors.
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Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified