Evaluation of Antibacterial activity of Polysaccharide Extract of Ganoderma lucidum

Abstract

The use of natural products and herbal medicines is becoming popular due to the recognition of value of traditional medical system and the identification of indigenous medicinal plants. Furthermore, there is a need of constant search for new and effective drugs due the emergence of resistant strains against currently used drugs. Ganoderma Species are one of the most widely researched medicinal mushrooms because of their potent bioactive properties. Therefore this study aims to evaluate the antibacterial potential of Ganoderma lucidum. Hot water extract of G. lucidum was used to obtain the polysaccharide fraction by ethanol precipitation. The antibacterial activity was analysed by disc diffusion method and spectrophotometeric analysis. The largest zone of inhibition (19mm) was observed for Staphylococcus sp. followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella sp. And Escherichia coli. A decrease of about 70% was observed in the growth rate of Staphylococcus sp. when incubated in the presence of G. lucidum aqueous extract, followed by E. coli (40%), Klebsiella sp. (26%), P. aeruginosa (21%) and S. typhi (12%).