Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Studies of the Aerial Part of Arachis hypogea Linn.

The petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol soluble extracts of the aerial part of Arachis hypogea (Papilionaceae) were screened for their possible antimicrobial activity against thirteen bacteria and three fungi by disc diffusion method and cytotoxic activity by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The chloroform soluble extract showed moderate antimicrobial activity with a zone of inhibition of 13-15 mm. The petroleum ether soluble extract showed mild and methanol soluble extract showed poor antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms. In the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the most significant cytotoxicity was showed by petroleum ether soluble extract with an LC50 of 3.36 g/ml where vincristine sulphate was used as standard with an LC50 of 0.749 μg/ml. The results suggested significant antimicrobial activity of chloroform soluble extract and cytotoxic potential of petroleum ether soluble extract.