Antimicrobial Activity of Different Parts of Phoenix dactylifera

In many parts of the world there is a rich tradition in the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of many infectious diseases. Because of the side effects and the resistance that pathogenic microorganisms build against the antibiotics, much recent attention has been paid to extract the biologically active compounds from plant species used in herbal medicine. In this study different parts of Phoenix dactylifera from Kerman-Bam region were collected. Plant samples were dried in shade and extracted with methanol, chloroform and aqueous by maceration method for 10 days at room temperature. Microorganisms (five gram negative and three gram positive bacteria) were cultured on brain heart infusion agar and antibacterial activity tested by agar well diffusion assay. As a precaution for not missing any trace amounts of antimicrobials, a concentration of 40 mg/ml of each extract was prepared in dimethyl sulfoxide: methanol (1:1 v/v) solvent and administered in each well. Cultured plates were incubated at 35oC. After 48 hours the bioactivity was determined by the measurement of the diameter of inhibition zones (DIZ). Finally MIC and MBC were determined. Some extracts showed antibacterial activity against some bacteria and methalonic extract of palm seed had the most effects. In gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (PTCC 1112) and in the gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli (PTCC 1330) were the most sensitive bacteria. MIC and MBC value were 1.25 and 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. According to the results from this study, it is suggested that different parts of Phoenix dactylifera may be used in the treatment of the infections including gram positive bacteria. Efforts should go on to screen more local flora in different regions, as many investigations have shown that environment is very effective in biological properties in plants.