PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND BACTERICIDAL POTENCY OF JUSTICIA ADHATODA AGAINST CLINICAL PATHOGENS

Abstract

Objective: Increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance has made an important public health issue in the modern world. Nowadays, many research efforts have been directed toward the development of drugs from medicinal plants for the treatment of diseases caused by microorganisms. Hence, the present attempt has been made to evaluate the bactericidal potency of traditional medicinal plant, Justicia adhatoda against selected clinical pathogens. Methods: Leaf extracts of J. adhatoda were subjected to standard phytochemical analyses by qualitative color tests to confirm the presence of active Phytoconstituents. Bactericidal potency of the leaf extracts of J. adhatoda was assessed by growth inhibition zone against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Sensitivity of the tested bacterial strains was also checked with standard reference antibiotic vancomycin. Results: Qualitative phytochemical analyses revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, anthraquinones, saponins, resins, glycosides, and phenols. Fourier-transform infrared spectrum confirmed the presence of phytochemicals belong to various functional groups such as alkenes, alkanes, aliphatic and aromatic amines, aldehydes, esters, alcohols, and phenols. Results on bactericidal efficacy demonstrated that solvents used in the present experiment showed higher activity in the order ethanol >ethyl acetate >chloroform >diethyl ether >methanol >acetone >water. Leaf extracts of J. adhatoda showed the higher activity for different clinical pathogens in the order of P. aeruginosa >B. cereus >E. coli >K. pneumoniae >S. aureus. Among the tested bacterial pathogens, B. cereus exhibited maximum susceptibility (18.33±0.94 mm) toward ethyl acetate extract. The maximum activity index (2.67±0.42) and fold area increase (6.31±2.24) were also observed against B. cereus for ethyl acetate extract. Conclusion: The present study revealed that J. adhatoda has broad spectrum of antibacterial activity and a potential source of antibacterial agents that could be useful for the control of infectious diseases.