Muscle relaxant and antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Feronia limonia

Feronia limonia, commonly known as wood apple, has been used traditionally because of its medicinal values. In
this study we evaluated the Muscle relaxant and antibacterial properties of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of
their leaves. The muscle relaxant activity was evaluated using rotarod method and actophotometer method. Thirty
mice of both sexes were divided into five groups, with 1 group as control, 1 as standard (diazepam 5mg/kg i.p) and
three test groups of aqueous extract ( 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg ). Same procedure was repeated for ethanolic
extract (50mg/kg, 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg ). The results were statistically calculated using ANOVA. The results showed
a significant reduction in the muscle coordination among the mice. Ethanolic extracts found to produce a better
activity when compared to aqueous extract. Antibacterial activity was evaluated for 4 bacterial strains including 2
gram negative strains such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and 2 gram positive strains such as
Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus faecalis. The zone of inhibition was analysed for both the extracts with
ciprofloxacin 10mg as control. The zones were produced for a minimum dose of 25mg for both the extracts. All four
strains were susceptible to both aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts. Thus both these extracts showed muscle
relaxant and antibacterial activities.