Abstract

ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS

Vijay Kumar, Umesh Kumar* and Veeru Prakas

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of five medicinal plants viz., Acoruscalamus, Pelargoniumgraveolens, Cymbopogonmartini, Cymbopogonnardus andCymbopogon citrates. Antioxidant activity of the plant was assayed by 1,1-dephenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). The highest antioxidant activity (68.89±0.31) was observed inP.graveolensand the least (14.53±0.08) in A.calamusat the lowest concentration i.e. 50 μg/ml.However the higher concentrationof plant extractsi.e. 250μg/mldisplayed theeconomically affective dose.P.graveolens was observed to be the richest source of phenolic compounds (22.27±0.284mg GAE ml-1)whileminimum concentration (7.63±0.046mg GAE ml-1) was measured in A.calamus. The ethanolic extracts of five medicinal plants showed inhibitory activity against all the four bacteria in which the diameter of zone of inhibition varied from 17 mm to 24 mm, 20 mm to 26 mm,21mm to 24mm, 18 mm to 24 mm and 16 mm to 22 mm respectively inA.calamus,C.nardus,P.graveolens,C.citratus,C. martini.Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assayrevealed thatC.citratushas highest antimicrobial activity at a minimum concentration (5 mg/ml) against S. aureus and E. coli.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, Antibacterial activity, Escherichia coli, Minimum inhibitory concentration, Pelargoniumgraveolens.