Aim: This study was aimed to scientifically prove the antimicrobial effect of the selected plants and to fulfil some of the recommendations of WHO, that research should be conducted on medicinal plants as alternative drugs for pathogenic bacteria and for possible elucidation of novel therapeutic preparations.
Method: Total phenolic contents of the plant extracts (bulb extract of Allium sativum, bark extract of Alstonia scholaris, leaf extract of Amaranthus spinosus, leaf extract of Dysophylla auriculata and leaf extract of Murraya koenigii) were determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the values were expressed in microgram (µg) gallic acid equivalent (GAE) to 1 milligram (mg) of extract. The antibacterial activities of the 80% methanolic extracts of the plants were determined against five species of pathogenic bacteria; that were Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19115), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 700699) Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella paratyphi (ATCC 9150) and Salmonella typhi (ATCC 14028).
Results: Out of the five selected samples, the highest phenolic content was recorded with the leaf extract of Murraya koenigii (64.97 ± 0.84). For the antibacterial screening, the most potent extract was observed with the leaf extract of Murraya koenigii against Staphylococcus aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 15.63 µg/mL.
Conclusion: The result obtained from this study confirmed the effectiveness of Murraya koenigii against the screened specie of bacteria. This work may be useful for the pharmaceutical industry in developing new natural product based therapy for pathogenic bacteria.
Key words: Medicinal plants, Antibacterial screening, Total phenolic content
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