ISOLATION, PARTIAL STRUCTURE OF A DIHYDROFLAVONOL FROM SUDANESE CASSIA TORA SEEDS AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT FRACTIONS

The flavonoids of the medicinally important species Cassia tora were investigated. The ethanol extract from seeds was initially purified by column chromatography and then via thin layer chromatography. In this way- a flavonoid was isolated in a chromatographically pure form. Its structure was partially elucidated on the basis of its spectral data (IR, UV, NMR, and MS). Different fractions of Cassia tora seeds were assessed for antimicrobial activity against six standard human pathogens .The ethyl acetate fraction showed excellent antibacterial activity against all test organisms and good antifungal activity. The n-butanol fraction exhibited excellent activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Excellent activity against Bacillus subtilis was observed for the chloroform fraction. The hexane fraction gave significant activity against Bacillus subtilis, but it was inactive against other test organisms.