Antibacterial Activity of Mucilage of Linum usitatissimum L. Seeds

Abstract

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide; the research for antimicrobial agents from plants has been a growing interest in the last few decades. Several studies indicate the presence of potent antibacterial agents in the seeds of Linum usitatissimum L. In the present study, antibacte-rial properties of mucilage extract from Linum usitatissimum L. seeds were screened against against eight Gram positive and Gram negative pathogenic bacteria using agar well diffusion method and disk diffusion method. The extract showed good results against examined bacteria and the results ob-tained by agar well diffusion method were better than those obtained from disk diffusion method. The mucilage showed strong antibacterial properties against all strains tested except Listeria monocytogenes with; the diameter of the inhibition zones (IZD) varying from 8 to 12 mm.The results of this study suggested that the mucilage from L. usitatissimum L can be a source of natural antibacterial agent.