Abstract
Plants are a rich source of secondary metabolites that have been found to have medicinal properties. The present study was conducted to evaluate the phytochemical screening, antibacterial activities and heavy metal analysis of seven medicinal plants i.e., Nigella sativa (seeds), Trigonella foenum-graecum (seeds), Brassica campestris (seeds), Pistacia integerrima (galls), Linum usitatissimum (seeds), Hyssopus officinalis (flowers), Ephedra vulgaris (dry branches) and its two recipes which are used by hakims (Practitioners of local herbal medicines), against different diseases particularly respiratory tract infections. The obtained results revealed that alkaloids (30%) and flavonoids (41%) were in maximum quantity in P. integerrima (galls) while saponins (10.9%) were in maximum quantity in Recipe 1. The antibacterial activity was determined by the agar well disc diffusion method using methanol, ethanol, chloroform and deionized water extracts. Each plant extract was tested against one Gram-positive (Streptococcus pneumonia) and two Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia) bacteria. Maximum zones of inhibition in methanol, ethanol, chloroform and aqueous extract were seen in T. foenum-graecum against S. pneumonia (20.06 ± 0.16 mm), B. campestris against S. pneumonia (22.40 ± 0.24 mm), Recipe 2 against K. pneumonia (20.06 ± 0.16 mm) and N. sativa against S. pneumonia (20.23 ± 0.16 mm), respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and showed the existence of high concentration of Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr). Thus, it has been found that medicinal plants individually as well as their recipes are potentially active against various diseases particularly respiratory tract infections
Highlights
Medicinal plants are indispensable components of earth as they are used to cure different infectious diseases all over the world and are a source of many effective and powerful drugs [1]
Recipe 1 contains 10.40% alkaloids whereas its plant parts N. sativa, B. campestris, T. foenum-graecum and P. integerrima individually contain
The present study shows the medicinal importance of all the tested plants and their recipes used against different infectious diseases that has shown potent activity against disease causing microbes
Summary
Medicinal plants are indispensable components of earth as they are used to cure different infectious diseases all over the world and are a source of many effective and powerful drugs [1]. Medicinal plants contain secondary metabolites like alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and glycosides which are used against different diseases and relieve pain [2,3]. Many studies have shown the therapeutic activities of secondary metabolites obtained from medicinal plants [4,5]. Recent studies have shown the alkaloids obtained from medicinal plants were highly active against Staphylococcus aureus [8]. With the advancement in the study of antimicrobial resistance, phytochemicals of medicinal plants lay down the foundations for new pharmaceuticals [9,10]. In rural areas, are still using traditional medicines for their common ailments due to poverty and unavailability of modern health facilities [11,12]
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