Antimicrobial and antihyperglycemic activities of Musa paradisiaca flowers

Abstract

To screen the antimicrobial and antihyperglycemic activities of Musa paradisiaca (M. paradisiaca) flowers. The EtOH and EtOH: water (1:1) extracts of M. paradisiaca flowers were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activity against standard strains of Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) and Candida albicans (C. albicans), Cryptococcus albidus (C. albidus) against amikacin and clotrimazole respectively. Both the extracts were also administered to normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. The blood glucose levels were measured daily after oral administration of extracts at doses of 100, 250 and 500 mg/(kg.d). Result: The EtOH and EtOH: water (1:1) extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 5.62–25.81 and 7.60–31.50 μg/mL respectively. Both the extracts reversed the permanent hyperglycemia within a week in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The EtOH extract (250 mg/kg) was found to be 7.69% more potent hypoglycemic effect than standard oral hypoglycemic drug, glibenclamide 0.2 mg/kg b.w., respectively. The alcoholic extracts of M. paradisiaca flowers showed potent antihyperglycemic and moderate antimicrobial activities.