ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF ZANTHOXYLUM RHETSA (ROXB.) DC. AGAINST FOOD PATHOGENS

Abstract

The pericarps and seeds of Zanthoxylum rhetsa were collected and powdered. The powdered material was subjected to kinetic maceration and soxhlet extraction with methanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and n-hexane to get respective extracts. The extracts of pericarps and seeds were screened for its antimicrobial activity using agar cup method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) values were also determined. Zanthoxylum rhetsa exhibited narrow spectrum antimicrobial activity with MIC value ranging between 0.312 mg/ml to 12.5 mg/ml. It can be concluded from the antimicrobial data that Z. rhetsa has promising antimicrobial activity against the food pathogens; hence it may be considered as a safe antimicrobial agent.