Antibacterial activity of crude dried leaf extracts of some plants from various locations of Palghar, M.S., India

Abstract

Many plants contain constituents that exhibit antibacterial activity. Tribes in Palghar district still depend on medicinal plants available nearby in the region and most of them are used for first aid remedies, to treat cough, cold, fever, headache, wounds and some simple ailments.The present study aimed to check the antibacterial activity of these plants found at various locations in Palghar district of Maharashtra. The study was carried out using the crude extracts of dried leaves, these plants are used as medicines by the folk tribes of Palghar. The medicinal plants used in study were Abrus precatorius, Adhatoda vasica, Calotropis gigantea, Crotalaria retusa, Jatropha gossypifolia, and Vitex negundo. The antibacterial activity of methanolic, ethanolic and Aqueous dried leaf extracts of these plants were tested on the laboratory cultures of the pathogenic organisms namely Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Agar diffusion method. From the study carried out, except for Calotropis gigantea and Jatropha gossypifolia all plant leaf extracts were observed to have some antimicrobial activity against at least one reference bacterial strain. It was observed that methanolic and ethanolic dried leaves extracts of the plants used in the study were found to be more effective against the reference strains, as compared to the aqueous extract.