Antibacterial Evaluation of Plant Extracts: An Insight into Phytomedicine
Keywords:
Antibacterial activity, O. sanctum, P. nigrum, PhytomedicineAbstract
This study was carried out to evaluate the antibacterial activity of petroleum ether, methanol and aqueous extract of the two plant Ocimum sanctum and pepper nigrum extract using agar well diffusion and broth dilution method against gram-positive bacterial strains (B. firmus, B. megaterium and B. cereus) and gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp. and Klebsiella pneumoniae). The results indicate that petroleum ether extract compare to methanol and aqueous extract of O. sanctum and P. nigrum exhibited significant antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 0.13 to 0.21x 10-4 mg/well concentration. Moreover, gram-negative bacteria were less susceptible against petroleum ether, methanol and aqueous extract of O. sanctum and P. nigrum and their MIC ranging from 0.13 to 0.21x 10-2. The most susceptible organism to the organic extracts from both studied plants was B. firmus and the most resistant organism was Enterobacter sp. The result obtained with B. cereus and K. pneumoniae were particularly interesting, since it was inhibited by antibiotic ampicillin used and susceptibility was observed with the individual extracts, where higher antibacterial activity with petroleum ether and aqueous extracts of O. sanctum and P. nigrum respectively. The presence of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, tannins, saponin, triterpenoids, steroids and glycosides in the extracts of these plants supports their traditional uses as medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments. The present study reveals potential use of these plants for developing new antibacterial herbal drugs against pathogenic microorganisms.
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