In Vitro Lipid Peroxidation and Antimicrobial Activity of Mucuna pruriens Seeds

The present investigation is aimed to carry out the in vitro lipid peroxidation and antimicrobial activities of the methanol extract of Mucuna pruriens (MEMP) (Family: Fabaceae) seeds. Lipid peroxidation was monitored by the change in optical density of the prepared concentrations (10-320 μg/ml) and the % inhi-bition was calculated. Ascorbate/FeSO4-induced peroxidation was inhibited by standard antioxidants such as quercetin, L-ascorbic acid and MEMP. Moreover, the % inhibition of the methanol extract increased with increase in concentration. IC50 value for the MEMP, L-ascorbic acid and quercetin for lipid peroxida-tion was found to be 217.25 μg/ml, 41 μg/ml and 19.75 μg/ml respectively. The antimicrobial activity of MEMP was determined by disc diffusion method with various Gram positive and Gram-negative microor-ganisms. MEMP showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against all the tested microorganisms ex-cept Staphylococcus aureus ML 152 and Vibrae cholera 14035. The results obtained in the present study indicate that MEMP can be a potential source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent.