Antibacterial and phytochemical studies on twelve species of Indian medicinal plants

Abstract

The aqueous and methanol extracts of 12 plants each belonging to different
families were evaluated for antibacterial activity against medically
important bacteria viz. B. cereus ATCC11778 , S. epidermidids ATCC12228
, E. aerogenes ATCC13048, P. vulgaris NCTC 8313, S. typhimurium ATCC
23564. The in vitro antibacterial activity was performed by agar disc
diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The aqueous extracts were
inactive but methanol extracts showed some degree of antibacterial activity
against the tested bacterial strains. S. typhimurium was the most resistant
bacteria while B. cereus was the most susceptible bacteria. Amongst the
plant species screened, methanol extract of Bauhinia variegata bark
showed best antibacterial activity.
(Afr. J. Biomed. Res. 10: 175 – 181)