Evaluation of antimicrobial properties of some Indian medicinal plants against MDR pathogenic bacteria

Abstract

The antibacterial potential of thirty five extracts from seven plants was investigated against twelve MDR strains of pathogenic bacteria using agar well diffusion method and microbroth dilution assay. S. aureus and E. coli strains were isolated from the Clinical samples. It was observed that extracts obtained from the Petroleum ether fraction of Cordia dichotoma, Azadirachta indica, Holoptelia integrifolia and Syzigium cumini; Acetone extracts of Allium sativum and Syzigium cumini; extracts obtained from methanolic fractions of Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Cordia dichotoma and Syzigium cumini; extracts obtained from ethanoloic fractions of Azadirachta indica, Cordia dichotoma, and Syzigium cumini exhibited strong antibacterial effects against almost all pathogenic bacteia tested. The inhibitory effects of Syzigium cumini was found to be higher in all solvents with the inhibition zone 8.0±0.20- 24.6±0.55 mm in comparison to inhibition zone recorded for other tested plant extracts. Extract obtained from Methanolic fraction of Syzigium cumini exhibited a significant antibacterial activity against all the bacteria tested and the MIC was also obtained ranging from 0.78 to 3.12 mg/ml and 1.56 to 6.25 mg/ml against the S. aureus and E. coli pathogenic strains respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration of plant extracts were observed ranging from 0.78 to 25 mg/ml and 1.56 to 25 mg/ml against S. aureus and E. coli respectively. This study suggests that the compounds obtained from these plants can be used as important therapeutic drugs for curing various multidrug resistant bacterial infections.