Purpose: To determine the antimicrobial activity and chemical constituents of ethyl acetate extract of
Citrullus lanatus seeds.
Methods: Antimicrobial activity of the ethyl acetate extract of the seeds of C. lanatus was evaluated
against Staphylococus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922,
Bacillus subtilis
NCTC8236,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
ATCC 10145 and
Candida albicans
ATCC 24433 using standard
microbiological method. Chemical constituents of the extract were determined with Gas chromatography
and mass spectrometry (GC MS) systems.
Results: An oily, yellowish orange coloured extract with a yield of 18.7 % was obtained. The extract
inhibited the growth of all test microorganisms at minimum inhibitory concentration range of 0.313 -2.5
mg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration of 0.313-5 mg/mL. GC MS profile of the extract showed
the presence of oleic acid (31.22 %), saturated fatty acid (23.85 %) and gamma tocopherol (8.79 %).
Other organic compounds accounted for 36.16 % of the extract
Conclusion: Ethyl acetate extract of the seeds of Citrullus lanatus has antimicrobial effect against
some Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria as well as C. albicans. Twenty-one compounds
including fatty acids, hexamethyl-2-ethylacridine, gamma tocopherol and methylphthalate have been
identified in the seeds.
