Comparative Evaluation Of Antimicrobial Properties Of Citrus Varieties Available In Malaysia Market

Abstract

Citrus has been cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries due to its culinary and medicinal properties. Its antimicrobial properties are well known. There are few varieties of citrus available in Malaysian market i.e. Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus microcarpa, Citrus limon and Citrus sinensis. The present study compares the antibacterial properties of methanol extract of five varieties of citrus peels by disc diffusion method against Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is no inhibition were observed for all the citrus peel extracts at 5 and 10 mg/ml. The methanol extract of Citrus microcarpa, Citrus reticulata and Citrus sinensis at 20 mg/ml showed better inhibition than compare to Citrus aurantifolia and Citrus limon against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. However, the standards at lower concentrations showed higher inhibition than compare to all the extracts against entire organism. These findings can form the basis for further studies to isolate their active constituents to perform its biological activities