In vitro studies on the antimicrobial effect of different solvent extracts of Dodonaea angustifolia (L) and Clerodendrum phlomidis (L) against some pathogenic bacteria

Abstract

Infectious disease caused by bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus is a major public health problem in many developing countries. In recent years drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria has been commonly reported from all over the world. Plants have been used for centuries to treat infectious diseases and are considered as an important source of new antimicrobial agents. The anti-microbial activity of different solvent extracts of Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus was studied. Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis were collected from the surroundings of Piranmalai hills. The shade dried plants leaves were pulverized to get a coarse powder. Since the solubility of the powdered extract is not known, its solubility was checked in different solvents with varying polarities (Harborne, 1998). The evaluation of antibacterial activity for different solvent extracts of Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis was carried out using the agar well diffusion method. Results revealed that the ethanol extract of Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis showed maximum zone of inhibition compare to other solvent extracts. Antibacterial activity of different solvent extracts of Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis were statistically significantly (P<0.05). The present investigation thus elucidated the anti-microbial potential of Dodonaea angustifolia and Clerodendrum phlomidis which could be used to combat microbial infections in mankind.