Abstract

IN-VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND EVALUATION OF FLAVONOID AND PHENOL IN EARTHWORM POWDER (EUDRILUS EUGENIAE)

*J. Anitha and Indira A. Jayraaj

ABSTRACT

Development of microbial resistance to various existing antimicrobial drugs has become a serious public health concern and the search for new classes of antimicrobial agents is a challenging task. The antimicrobial activity of the earthworm powder (EWP) obtained from E. eugeniae was investigated against fifteen bacteria species as well as five fungal species using disc diffusion method to verify its claimed pharmaceutical use in the treatment of many infections. 10μl of EWP exhibited strongest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus thuringiensis, and antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Aspergillus sp. This inhibitory effect of EWP was compared with the commercial antibiotics like Tetracycline and Fucanazole. The results of the present investigation indicate that the EWP of E. eugeniae has a significant capacity of antibacterial and antifungal activities. The flavonoids and phenols in the earthworm powder, which makes them interesting for screening EWP of E. eugeniae as natural product.

Keywords: E. eugeniae; earthworm powder; Bacteria; Fungi; bacterial activity.