Antimicrobial Activity of Coleus For skohlii (Wild) Briq and Costus Igneus N.E.Br

Abstract

Medicinal plants are the wealthy source of antibacterial agents and curatives. The use of plants in treatment of burns, dermatophytes and infectious diseases is common in traditional medicine. The development of new antimicrobial agents against resistant pathogens is increasing interest. It was found that most plant extracts studied had antibacterial and antifungal activities. In the present investigation, the effect of different extracts namely petroleum ether, methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone and chloroform were tested on Gram positive bacteria like Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative bacteria E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the yeast Candida utilis by disc diffusion and agar well diffusion method. All the extracts showed significant activity against all pathogens, but the methanolic extract showed maximum zone of inhibition against all the microorganisms. Both the gram positive bacteria tested are found to be more sensitive compared to gram negative bacteria which recorded minimum inhibition zone. The plant extracts were found to be more inhibitory towards fungus tested. This study scientifically supports the usage of whole plant as a remedy for various superficial bacterial and fungal infections in traditional medicine.