Objective: To study the antimicrobial potential of Mesua ferrea (M. ferrea) L. seed extracts
employed for antimicrobial assay. Methods: The plant powder was extracted in seven different
solvents of increasing polarities against a wide spectrum of microbial strains. Agar disc diffusion
method was employed for antimicrobial assay at the concentration of 500 毺g/disc. Gram-positive
bacteria were most susceptible and yeast was most resistant. The pronounced antimicrobial
activity was with the extracts in non-polar solvents than in polar ones. Results: The results were
compared with the zones of inhibition produced by commercially available standard antibiotics.
The lipophilic extracts of M. ferrea L. showed more activity towards Gram positive bacteria.
Conclusion: These results indicate that activity could be attributed to the presence of essential
oil, xanthones and coumarines present within the seed of this plant. These results indicate that
M. ferrea extract could be useful in fighting emerging drug-resistant microorganisms.