The Antibacterial Activity of Dayak Onion ( Eleutherine palmifolia (L.) Merr) towards Pathogenic Bacteria.

Antibacterial activity of indigenous Dayak onion ( Eleutherine palmifolia (L.) Merr) was investigated. The Dayak onion was solvent extracted with n -hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol 96% consecutively. Each extract was tested its antibacterial activity towards methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Bacillus cereus , Shigella sp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using disc diffusion method. The test results showed that the n -hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol 96% extracts positively inhibited the growth of MRSA, B. cereus , Shigella sp., and P. aeruginosa . The highest inhibition activity of each extract was obtained with 10 mg/mL of extract concentration; whereas the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of each extract was 2 mg/mL. Extract with the highest inhibition activity was ethyl acetate extract against B. cereus (139.58%). TLC evaluation of ethyl acetate extract showed four spots and bioautography indicated that ethyl acetate extract contained four types of compounds with inhibition activity against B. cereus , in which two compounds have higher antibacterial activity than the other two.