Antimicrobial Activities of Tetracyclic Triterpenoids from the Seeds of Azadirachata indica

Two known tetracyclic triterpenoids were isolated from the seeds of Azadirachta indica to evaluate for antimicrobial activities. In this regard, the powdered seeds of Azadirachta indica were extracted using chloroform/methanol (1:1) to provide 60 g of oily crude extract after the removal of the solvent using a rotary evaporator at 50°C. The crude extract was subjected to column chromatographic separation to afford two known compounds identified as azadiradione (1) and epoxyazadiradione (2). The crude extract and isolated compounds were evaluated against four bacterial and two fungal strains. Accordingly, the crude extract was found to be active against P. aeruginosa (11 mm) and E. coli (15 mm). Whereas, compound 1 showed significant activity against S.aureus (18 mm) and P. aeruginosa (15 mm).