For e.g in antimicrobial studies, I want to carry out an assay using "Methanolic extract" of a plant sample. Is it advisable since methanol as a solvent possess some antimicrobial properties? Will I get an effective result?
Define "effective"?
The solvent (especially organic solvents) is likely to have an effect by itself, so you will have to do solvent-only controls.
Right Yoram - it's a tough one but it speaks that speaks to the irrelevancy of such work. The common use of DMSO as the solvent brings issues of smell and cost that eliminate practical application.
Ethanol or methanol would be useful but %'s necessary for solvency are as effective as the extract.
Yoram Gerchman Do you mind explaining briefly on "solvent-only controls", I want to get something straight.
If I understand you correctly you wish to use the extract with the solvent you extracted with. One issue is that organic solvents might have their own effect. So one control is to add the same volume of so solvent that was not used for extraction.
Do keep in mind that as Phil Geis mentioned solvents+extract might have a synergistic effect, e.g. the combination might have a higher effect than the additive effect.
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