Antibacterial activity of some plants of Karnataka, India

Abstract

In the present study, we determined antibacterial activity of 20 plants (belonging to 19 genera and 9 families) collected from different places of Karnataka, India by agar well diffusion assay. Plants were extracted using methanol by maceration process. All plants were capable of inhibiting test bacteria but to a varied extent. Among selected plants, Conyza stricta, Striga gesnerioides, Syzygium leatum and Swertia lawii displayed marked antibacterial activity as evidenced by wider zone of inhibition when compared with other plants. Among orchids, Coelogyne nervosa exhibited marked antibacterial activity. Among bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited to higher extent followed by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is evident that the extracts possess antibacterial principles which are to be isolated, characterized and subjected for bioactivity determinations.