| Summary: | Parkia speciosa or petai is commonly found in tropical countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This plant is usually eaten raw or included in recipes and it is believed that P. speciosa can relieve various illnesses. Previous studies have proven that P. speciosa has some valuable medicinal properties such as a hypoglycemic agent, antitumor, and antimutagenicity. Usually, only the seeds of P. speciosa are consumed while their pericarp is discarded. Thus, in this study we evaluate the pericarp’s potential to be utilised as an antimicrobial agent. The pericarp was extracted using ethyl acetate and the antibacterial activity of the extract was determined by disk diffusion and broth dilution methods against four types of common infectious bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium. It was found that the P. speciosa pericarp extract exhibited good antibacterial activity toward S. aureus and B. cereus while E. coli and S. typhimurium were resistant to the extract. The lowest concentration of extract that has an effect on S. aureus and B. cereus was 7.81 mg/mL and 1.95 mg/mL, respectively. Thus, the extract may have the potential to be used as a potent antimicrobial agent. © 2023 UMT Press. All Rights Reserved.
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