Antimicrobial activity of six selected 'ulam"

Abstract

Six types of 'ulam' namely Mentha arvensis (mint), Lactuca sativa var capitataicabbage lettuce), Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (winged bean), Pluchea indica Less. (beluntas), Premna cordifolia (bebuas) and Limnocharis flava L. (paku rawan) were investigated for their antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method at various concentrations. All plants were extracted successively with dichloromethane (DCM) and ethanol (EtOH). These extracts were tested against four types of bacteria such as E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, S. pyogenes and yeast which is C. albican. The results showed that Limnocharis jlava L. buchenau extracted with DCM and EtOH displayed good antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and S. pyogenes. Besides, only this plant extracted in EtOH showed inhibition against C. albican. Other plants were found to display selective inhibition against microbes. The results show that some ulam possess antimicrobial activity and therefore it could be used as a natural preservative ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical industries.