International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2278 - 3202 6 7 2017 07 10 Antimicrobial property of Capsaicin 7 11 EN Tushar S. Kelkar 1 Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory, Dept. of Botany, Wilson College, Mumbai – 400 007, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, India Satish A. Bhalerao 2 SICE Society’s Degree College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Jambhul Phata, Chikhloli, Ambernath (W) 421 505, University of Mumbai, Ambarnath, India Pranay Agarwal 1 Department of Life Sciences, K.C. College, D.N. Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, India Chandan Das 2 Department of Life Sciences, K.C. College, D.N. Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, India Olivia Dias 3 Department of Life Sciences, K.C. College, D.N. Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, India Tejashree Shanbhag 4 Department of Life Sciences, K.C. College, D.N. Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, India > Research Paper 2017 5 19 2017 07 10 Antimicrobial agents have always been of clinical significance. The effectiveness of antibiotics in the near future is unpredictable due to increasing antibiotic resistance among common pathogenic microbial strains. Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chillies has numerous biological properties which are yet to be explored. Due to its characteristic pungent nature, it has attracted interest in the field of antimicrobial studies, especially in the past two decades. In the current study, pure capsaicin at different concentrations and the Soxhlet extract of Bhut jolokia (India’s ‘hottest’ chilli) were screened for their antimicrobial effects on the common pathogenic bacterial strains Salmonella paratyphi A, Salmonella paratyphi B, Proteus mirabilis and Micrococcus luteus as an extensive literature study revealed no screening performed on these strains. Antimicrobial activity was observed in Salmonella paratyphi A, Salmonella paratyphi B and M. luteus with M. luteus showing the maximum susceptibility. In this age of antibiotic resistance and emergence of pathogenic microbial mutants, it is of significant importance to have knowledge about secondary antimicrobial compounds apart from the currently known antibiotics. In a different aspect, a genetic relationship can be established between eukaryotes and prokaryotes which respond to capsaicin due a common receptor gene. Copyright@ International Science Community Association