Antimicrobial Activities of the Ethanol Extracts of Capsicum Fruits with Different Levels of Pungency

Soediro Soetarno ( Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, ITB)
Sukrasno Sukrasno ( Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, ITB)
Elin Yulinah ( Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, ITB)
Sylvia Sylvia ( Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, ITB)

Jurnal Matematika & Sains
Vol 2, No 2 (1997)

Ethanol extracts of the fruits of three kinds of Capsicum showed similar potencies in their antimicrobial activities against Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacterias, and fungi, although they contained different level of capsaicin. Bioautographic tests demonstrated that capsaicin was the main antimicrobial component. At least two other non-polar components of ethanol extract also contributed in the antimicrobial activity and very likely that these compounds were responsible for the activity toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa.