Antimicrobial activity of leaf extracts of Bituminaria sp. genotypes at different growth stages

Abstract

Plants have secondary metabolites that play a role in defense mechanism are known to have effects on microorganisms. These metabolites and their amounts vary depending upon various factors. Here, we studied the antimicrobial effect of secondary metabolites of Bituminaria sp. genotypes and explored whether this effect changes with different growing stages of the plant. The results show that extracts obtained from 12 B. bituminosa genotypes were not significantly effective on Gram-negative bacteria but highly effective on Gram-positive bacteria and eukaryotic yeast. Of these genotypes, 9 and 12 genotype were more effective than the rest. Observations suggest that the extracts from the plants are more effective during the beginning of flowering stage than the growth and budding stages for the bacteria studied. It could be due to the differences in the nature of the metabolites and their quantity.