Investigation of antimicrobial activity and stability of orixa japonica thunb. Leaf extract

The antimicrobial activity of Orixa japonica Thunb. leaf extract towards 13 microorganism strains was evaluated. Both methanol (MEex) and 70% ethanol extracts showed antimicrobial activity towards Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. MEex showed a higher antimicrobial activity than the 70% ethanol extract. In addition, the dichloromethane fraction (DCMfr) of the MEex also had an antimicrobial effect against the microorganisms examined. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) towards S. mutans, B. cereus, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa were 49.22, 24.61, 49.22, and 49.22 mg/mL, respectively. In contrast, the MICs of the DCMfr tpwards S. mutans, B. cereus, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa were 3.31, 0.21, 1.7, and 1.7 mg/mL, respectively. The MEex antimicrobial activity was not affected by a 3 h exposures to pH in the range of 3-11 or by temperatures were maintained between 80oC-100oC for 6 h. However, the MEex antimicrobial activity decreased at a heat treatment of 121oC 1 h.