Kavitha et al., IJPSR, 2011; Vol. 2(9): 2376-2379 ISSN: 0975-8232 Available online on www.ijpsr.com 2376 IJPSR (2011), Vol. 2, Issue 9 (Research Article) Received on 20 May, 2011; received in revised form 24 August, 2011; accepted 28 August, 2011 ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL POTENTIAL OF FRUIT BODY EXTRACTS FROM DALDINIA CONCENTRICA (BOLTON) CESATI & DE NOTARIS Devendiran Kavitha, Ramalingam Balakumar, Elumalai Sivaprakasam, Sekaran Sridhar* and Jebamalai Suresh Kumar Department of Botany, Government Arts College, Thiruvannamalai- 606 603, Tamil Nadu, India ABSTRACT Aqueous and methanol extracts of fruit bodies of Daldinia concentrica were tested against five pathogenic fungi like Penicillium sps., Aspergillus fumigatous, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Mucour indicus and also five bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans . The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the above extracts were determined by well diffusion assay. Nearly both the extracts were found effective against these bacteria and fungi. The aqueous extract showed higher zone of inhibition than the methanol extract tested. The extracts exhibited antibacterial activities with zone of inhibition ranging from 14 - 54 mm and 5 - 23 mm for aqueous and methanol extracts whereas, antifungal activities zone of inhibition ranging from 9 - 25 mm and 7 - 18 mm, for aqueous and methanol extracts, respectively. The organisms were more sensitive to the aqueous extract of the fungal fruit bodies than that of methanol extract. INTRODUCTION: Since the discovery of penicillin, a potent antibiotic produced by Penicillium notatum 1 , a new area in natural product research has started. Fungi were noticed as a source of chemically new compounds with various biological activities. The isolation from soil was a common method to get fungal isolates. However, fungal strains from terrestrial sources yielded often already described secondary metabolites. Thus, fungi from new origins were needed. The marine environment offers a wide array of potential fungal sources including sediment, sand, driftwood, mangrove wood, sea water, algae, sponges and other invertebrates 2 . Mushrooms belong to a special group of macroscopic fungi. Macromycetes arranged in the phylum Basidiomycota and some of them in the Ascomycota are known as the higher fungi 3 . Many worldwide cultures, especially in the Orient, recognize that extracts from some edible and non-edible mushrooms are known for their potential health benefits. In China, the dietary supplements and nutraceuticals made from mushroom extracts are used, along with various combinations of other herbal preparations 4, 5 . Several compounds with important pharmaceutical properties have been isolated from these organisms. Substances that act as anti-aging, in longevity, modulating the immune system, having hypoglycemic activity and to inhibit tumor growth have been isolated from mushrooms, such as polysaccharides. Polysaccharides can interconnect several points forming a wide variety of branched or linear structures, for example, ß glucans 6 . Furthermore, other bioactive substances such as triterpenes, lipids and phenols have also been identified and characterized in mushrooms with medicinal properties 7 . Keywords: Antibacterial, Antifungal, Daldinia concentrica, Fruit bodies Correspondence to Author: Dr. S. Sridhar Asst. Professor, Department of Botany, Government Arts College, Thiruvannamalai- 606 603, Tamil Nadu, India