Antimicrobial activity of Michelia champaca

The methanol extracts of leaves, seeds, stem and root barks, stem and root heart-woods of Michelia champaca and the obtained fractions (petrol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, butanol) exhibited a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. Fractionation drastically enhanced the level of activity particularly in all fractions of the stem bark and dichloromethane fraction of the root bark. Some fractions of the leaves, stem and root barks demonstrated antifungal activity against some of the tested moulds. Liriodenine was the active constituent of the root bark, with a broader and, in some cases, better level of activity as compared to the standard. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.