Antifungal and antibacterial potential of methanol and chloroform extracts of Marchantia polymorpha L.

The methanol and chloroform extracts of Marchantia polymorpha were tested against three Gram-negative bacterial strains, viz. Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, Salmonella enterica and Pasturella multocida and four fungal strains, viz. Tilletia indica Mitra, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lini, Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. and Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn. by using disc diffusion and micro broth dilution techniques. Both the extracts showed unique activity against X. oryzae and P.multocida [per cent inhibition (PI) 11.58 and 12.55, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 2.50 and 1.25 μg/mL, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) 2.75 and 1.25 μg/mL, respectively] but for fungi, it was shown against S.rolfsii and F. oxysporum [PI 32.65 and 33.44, MIC 2.50 and 0.65 μg/mL, minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) 4.50 and 0.65 μg/mL, respectively].The extracts possessed antimicrobial activity with different potency against variety of micro-organisms pathogenic to plants as well as animals. Some extracts were fungistatic and bacteriostatic (methanol extract against R. solani and chloroform extract against F. oxysporum and methanol extract for bacteria, respectively), while rest showed fungicidal/bactericidal potential. The results suggest the potential of M. polymorpha for developing a broad spectrum antimicrobial formulation in future.