Analysis of Antimicrobial Properties of Some Ethnomedicinal Plants

Abstract

The world is suffering through large number of diseases which are primarily caused by the microbes, though it is bacteria, fungi, viruses or protozoans. The inappropriate, prolonged use of antibiotics and loss of biodiversity and climate change is leading to the invasion of microbes in the human population, because of which every individual on the earth is suffering from diseases caused by microorganisms. In current scenario it is the prerequisite to screen the effective, safe, cheap, and available therapeutics from plants and natural products. Plant parts of sixteen medicinal plant species such as Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Cassia fistula, Catharanths roseus, Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa, Emblica officinalis, Eucalyptus, Mentha piperita,   Nerium oleander, Ocimum sanctum, Withania somnifera and Zingiber officinale  with high antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Gram-negative Escherichia coli and fungus Aspergillus niger were extracted with aqueous, ethanol and acetone and with the help of well diffusion method minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined. Out of three solvent phases, ethanol extract showed the highest inhibition against the microbes, where as the efficacy of most of the aqueous and acetone plant extracts were also confirmed as antimicrobial agent and their use as therapeutic drugs for the treatment of various diseases.