Antibacterial Activity of Punica granatum L. against Gastro Intestinal Tract Infection Causing Organisms

The pericarp of Punica granatum Linn. has been commonly employed as a crude drug in Indian traditional medicine for the treatment of diarrhoea as well as for use as an astringent, antihelminthic, asphrodisacs, laxative, diuretic, stomachic, cardiotonic and refrigerant. Antibacterial activity of P. granatum pericarp extracts was evaluated against ten Gastro Intestinal Tract (GIT) infection causing bacterial strains using paper disc agar diffusion method. The result indicated that the extracts obtained from P. granatum pericarp exhibited antimicrobial activity against all organisms except the crude extract used against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The methanol extract has exhibited maximum antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae Serotype 1. Methanol extract shows significant activity against tested bacterial strains when compared to other extracts used in the study. Our findings suggest that an appropriate bioactive compound(s) may be developed from P. granatum pericarp as complementary alternative medicine for the treatment of GIT infection causing bacterial strains.