Antibacterial, Antifungal and Tumor cell suppression potential of Morinda citrifolia fruit extracts

Morinda citrifolia (noni) is indigenous to tropical countries and also considered as an important traditional folk medicine. M. citrifolia fruits extracted with three solvents (methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane) were tested in vitro for their antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor activity. Among the three solvents tested, methanol extract was active against all tested organisms with varied extents of antibacterial activity. Ethyl acetate extract was effective against most of the microorganisms tested except Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Hexane extract was ineffective against all tested microorganisms.  Among the fungi tested, the maximum percentage of inhibition was observed against Trichophyton mentagrophytes with the extracts of methanol (79.3%) and ethyl acetate (62.06%). Nearly 50% inhibition was recorded against Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp. and Rhizopus sp. with methanol extract. None of the extracts were active against Candida albicans and Aspergillus species. The methanol extract showed maximum cytotoxicity on HEp2 cells followed by ethyl acetate extract. The overall results indicate promising baseline information for the potential uses of  M. citrifolia fruit extracts in the treatment of infectious diseases and tumor.

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