Antifungal and antibacterial activities of an alcoholic extract of Senna alata leaves

Abstract

Methanolic, ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts of Senna alata leaves were screened for phytochemicals, antibacterial and antifungal activities. Out of the three crude extracts, the methanolic extract showed the highest activity than the ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts. The unidentified active components purified from preparative thin layer chromatography exhibited low activities against Mucor, Rhizopus and Aspergillus niger at 70μg/ml while higher activity was exhibited against all the test organisms at 860μg/ml. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 9(3) 2005: 105-107