Antibacterial Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of Selected Bryophytes against Penicillin Resiatant Bacterial Pathogens

Abstract

Resistance to Penicillin drugs is a global concern. Medicinal plant products provide unlimited opportunities for new drug leads because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. There is a continuous and urgent need to discover new antimicrobial compounds from the lower plant forms like bryophytes against new and re-emerging drug resistant infectious diseases. In this study, the collected epiphytic bryophytes Pogonatum microstomum (Schwaegr.) Brid, Fissidens brevinervis (Broth.) and Pallavicinia lyelli (Hook) were tested against Penicillin resistant bacterial pathogens. They were extracted by percolation method using various solvents like acetone, ethyl acetate and distilled water. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against the different penicillin resistant pathogenic bacterial strains using agar well diffusion method. The bryophyte extracts showed remarkable inhibitory activity against bacterial pathogens. The extracts were further screened for phytochemical studies and they revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, proteins and amino acids, resins, saponins, steroids, tannins, xanthoproteins and sugars. The antimicrobial activities of bryophytes may be due to the presence of various secondary metabolites, which may enhance at the high altitudes.