Antibacterial activity of the winged oyster Pteria chinensis (Pterioida: Pteridae)

Abstract

The whole body extracts of the winged oyster, Pteria chinensis obtained with different solvents were assayed for antibacterial activity using agar well diffusion technique against human and fish pathogens. The acetone and chloroform crude extracts exhibited broad antibacterial activity. Highest activity was exhibited against Klebsiella pneumoniae (5 mm) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (5 mm) by the crude extract of acetone and against Salmonella paratyphi B (5 mm) by the chloroform extract. Similarly, the crude extract of chloroform was found to inhibit 8 out of 10 fish pathogens tested. The column-purified acetone fractions showed higher activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae (5 mm), Sreptococcus pneumoniae (4 mm), Serratia marcescens (4 mm) and Proteus mirabilis (4 mm). The MIC of the 100% acetone fraction was found to be lower for the pathogens, S. marcescens (100 μg) and P. mirabilis (150 μg) and hence 100% acetonated fraction of the extract of P. chinensis can be considered as potent antimicrobial compound against these pathogens.