Tamarindus indica L

Plants are the most common source of antimicrobial agents. Their usage as traditional health remedies is most popular and it is reported to have minimal side effects. In the present communication, antibacterial activity of Tamarindus indica L have been reported that may be an alternative source to develop an alternative treatment of bacterial infection. Tamarindus indica L seeds were processed and tested for their antibacterial activity against clinically important Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Different processing methods were employed to the seeds of Tamarindus indica L such as soaking, dehulling, cooking, autoclaving and germination. Extraction of Tamarindus indica L seeds were carried out at 37˚C with methanol. The extracted materials was then determined for antibacterial activity by disk diffusion and growth inhibition studies method. The results showed that the extracts possessed the highest antibacterial activity against the bacteria, Enterobacter Sp. and Morexella Sp. Further the sensitivity of two pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to the tannins of the processed tamarind seeds was tested. The highest activity was exhibited by the autoclaved seeds with 70.70% against Staphylococcus aureus and 46.21% against E. coli. The growth inhibition studies indicated that extracts of control, cooked and autoclaved seeds inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli more than soaked, dehulled and germinated seeds.. Similar results were obtained with the agar disc diffusion test. The potent components of Tamarindus indica L is suggested for further purification and determination of phytochemicals and other biological properties.