Abstract

Invertebrates possess some pronounced pharmacological activities or other properties which are useful in the biomedical area. In the present study, antimicrobial activities were observed in a fresh water clam, Villorita cyprinoides against a number of pathogens. Antimicrobial activities were carried out by standard disc diffusion method using the hemolymph and whole body extract of the clam Villorita cyprinoides, extracted using the solvents ethanol, methanol, butanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, acetone, hexane and water. The whole body extract showed a high inhibitory action (20 mm) against two gram positive bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus and minimum zone (7 mm) against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and fungus Aspergillus niger. Among the eight different extracts tested, antimicrobial activity was more pronounced in the ethyl acetate extracts. A dose dependent variation was observed in the antimicrobial activity of the hemolymph. The hemolymph at a dose level of 100µl/disc showed the highest inhibitory potency against the fungus Rhizopus stolonifer. The antimicrobial potential in the hemolymph and whole body extracts of the clam Villorita cyprinoides suggests that the clam possess antimicrobial compounds.

Keywords

Hemolymph, Villorita cyprinoides, Pathogens, Antimicrobial activity.

Received on 09/03/2018, Accepted on 23/03/2018, Published on 01/04/2018