Antimicrobial Potential of Acetone and Methanol extracts of Rhus parviflora Roxb.

Abstract

Rhus parviflora Roxb. (Anacardiaceae) is commonly known as “small flowered poison sumac”. It is found in Nepal, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka at an altitude of 700–1100 masl. R. parviflora is recorded in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia as having therapeutic uses for Vata vikara, which are the complications related to neurological disorders including anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis. In present piece of work an effort is made to investigate the antimicrobial potential of acetone and methanol extracts were tested against various bacterial species viz., Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella pullorum by using Agar well diffusion methods and against the fungal species (Rhizoctonia. solani, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium. solani, Aspergillus humicola, Aspergillus ochraceus, Penicillium. canadense) by Poisoned food technique. Results highlighted antimicrobial potential of R. parviflora extracts against the range of microbes, gram positive bacteria as well as gram negative bacterial species and fungal species, so that the extract from these plants can be used as broad spectrum antibiotic in near future.