Abstract:
Crude acetone extracts of leaf, bark, pericarp and seeds of Sri Lankan endemic plant, Vateria copallifera were evaluated
for antibacterial and larvicidal activities against ten clinically important pathogenic microorganisms and 3rd instar
mosquito larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. The highest antibacterial activity with zone of inhibition
19.66 ± 0.65 mm was reported from the seeds against Methicilin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as evident
from minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) > 0.01526 mg/ml and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) > 0.125
mg/ml. The lowest antibacterial activity was reported from the pericarp against Methicilin resistant staphylococcus
aureus with MIC > 0.125 mg/ml and MBC > 4 mg/ml. Seed extract which reported the highest antibacterial activity was
subjected to bioassay guided fractionation and obtained five fractions. (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5). From five fractions of seed
extract, F2 reported the highest antibacterial activity. Commercially available antibiotic discs sulphamethoxazole
trimethoprim (25 μg), ampicilin (10 μg), erythromycin (15 μg) were used as positive controls. Absolute ethanol was the
negative control with zone of inhibition 0 ± 0. Larvicidal activity was reported only from seed extract with LC50 and LC90
values 465.3mg/ml, 915.8mg.ml for Culex quinquefasciatus and 661.3mg/ml and 1105.9mg/ml for Aedes aegypti
respectively.
