Antimicrobial screening of selected flora of Pakistan

Abstract

Ethanolic extracts of Ferula assafoetida resin, Grewia asiatica leaves, Ipomoea hederacea seeds, Lepidium sativum seeds, Nigella sativa seeds and Terminalia chebula fruits were tested in vitro for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. The antibacterial study performed against eight bacterial species viz., Escherichia coli, Citrobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus subtilis indicated that the investigated plants have potent activity against all the tested microorganisms. The antifungal activity of these extracts was performed against nine fungal strains, viz., Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus niger, Yersinia aldovae, Candida albicans, Aspergillus effusus, Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Trichophyton rubrum. The extracts showed moderate as well as significant activity against the different fungal strains.