Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Diarrheal, and Cytotoxic Activities of Edible Fruits in the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh.

This study evaluated anti-bacterial, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of ten edible fruits (, , , , , , , , , and ) in the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh. Highest antibacterial activity was shown for ethanol:methanol (1:1) extracts of (2 mg/disc), which demonstrated inhibition zones of 16.7, 17.0, 14.7, 15.7, and 15.7 mm against , sp., , , and , respectively. In mice with castor oil-induced diarrhea, extract (250 mg/kg body weight) showed the highest inhibition (87.7%) and delayed the onset time (273 min) of diarrheal episodes, followed by extract (inhibition, 83.6%; delayed onset time, 187.4 min). and fruit powders were successively fractionated into -hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, ethanol, and methanol. Antidiarrheal activity significantly increased with increasing polarity of these fractions. In brine shrimp lethality assay, extract demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity (59.2 μg/mL), followed by (74.1 μg/mL) and (116.7 μg/mL); however, lowest cytotoxicity was shown for , , and extracts. Mice treated with extract did not experience any acute toxicity. These results demonstrate that and fruits have potential to treat diarrhea and may act as useful nutraceuticals.