Phytochemical screening for antibacterial activity of potential Malaysian medicinal plants

Abstract

Plants have been identified for their valuable properties for traditional medicine since thousands of years ago. The huge diversity of the Malaysian flora that has chemical diversity is one of the vital factors that make natural products outstanding candidates for any screening practice. In this study, the leaves of five local plants which are Centella asiatica (‘pegaga’), Ficus deltoidea (‘mas cotek’), Orthosiphon aristatus (‘misai kucing’), Polygonum minus (‘kesum’) and Psidium guajava (‘jambu batu’) were evaluated for their antibacterial properties with regards to the growth of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Methanol, ethanol and distilled water were used as solvent to extract the plant samples. Preliminary screening showed that ethanol extract of P. guajava had the highest zone of inhibition against B. subtilis growth.

Key words: Medicinal plants, screening, antibacterial properties, Psidium guajava.