Investigation of antibacterial activity of Punica granatum L.

In this study, antibacterial activity of Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) extracts (ethanol, acetone, methanol, ethyl acetate) obtained from fruit peel of the plants against bacterial strains of Streptococcus mitis CNCTC 4/77, Streptococcus mutans CNCTC 8/77, Streptococcus salivarius CNCTC 64/59, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028, Salmonella abony NCTC 6017, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 was investigated in vitro.The fruit peels of the plant were dried and then were extracted by using different solvents. The antibacterial activity of these extracts was evaluated by disc diffusion method.The highest antibacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus with an inhibition zone of 24 mm and Staphylococcus epidermidis with an inhibition zone of 30 mm. The extracts showed limited inhibition effect (about 7-12 mm inhibition zones) against Salmonella abony, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus salivarius, whereas there was no activity against Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhimurium.