The diversity of antibacterial compounds of Terminalia species (Combretaceae).

The antibacterial activity of acetone, hexane, dichloromethane leaf extract of five Terminalia species (Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth., Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wt. and Am., Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn.) Roxb., Terminalia catappa L. and Terminalia chebula Retz.) were tested by Agar-well-diffusion method against human pathogens E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The Rf values and relative activities of separated compounds were tested. Hexane and dichloromethane extracts have shown more antibacterial components than the acetone extract indicating the non-polar character of the antibacterial compounds. The non-polar character of the antibacterial compounds was confirmed from the Rf values. It indicated that the antibacterial activity was not due to tannins. Terminalia catappa found to possess the compounds which are more antibacterial. Terminalia arjuna and T. catappa plants were found most promising for isolating antibacterial compounds.