Antibacterial and antifungal activity of latex of euphorbia antiquorum

Euphorbia antiquorum is a large shrub or small tree belonging to the largest and the most diverse family in the plant kingdom, Euphorbiaceae. In the present study, an attempt was made to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of latex of E. antiquorum on certain microbes. The methanolic extract of the latex was prepared. The extracts were tested for their antibacterial activity against some Gram positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri and Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia and antifungal activity against pathogenic fungi Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizopus stolonifer and Mucor indicus. The results revealed that the latex showed minimum inhibition only to E. coli and S. flexneri. Latex did posses a strong antifungal activity against deadly pathogens namely C. albicans, A. flavus, A. fumigatus and not to Rhizopus Mucor. The results suggest that the E. antiquorum latex extract account both for the antibacterial and antifungal properties and has a potential for use as an antimicrobial agent.