In vitro ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST SELECTED PATHOGENIC MICROBES

The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance, as well as the evolution of new strains of pathogens, are of great concern to the global health community. The effective treatment of a disease involves the development of new pharmaceutical products or a potential source of new drugs. Herbal medicines in common use in our community could be an excellent source of medication to combat this problem. This study focuses on exploring the antimicrobial properties of plants that are commonly used as traditional medicines. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants such as Asparagus racemosus, Cyperus rotundus, Zingiber officinale, Terminalia bellirica, Tinospora cordifolia, Acacia concinna and Cedrus deodara against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The evaluation of antimicrobial activity of each plant extracts was carried out using the disc diffusion method. The antibacterial activity of aqueous extracts of Terminalia chebula, Justicia adhatoda, Terminalia bellirica, Withania somnifera and Zingiber officinale were found to be better/equally effective compared to standard antibiotics. Terminalia chebula and Terminalia bellirica showed maximum activity against selected fungal strains. The result confirmed the effectiveness of certain selected plant extracts as natural antimicrobials and suggested the possibility of using them in drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by test organisms.