Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF TWO MEDICINAL PLANTS- EUCALYPTUS (EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS) AND NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA)

Rashmi Arnold*

Abstract

Medicinal plants, since times immemorial, have been used virtually in all cultures as a source of medicine. Medicinal plants play a key role in world health care systems. Since the last decade, the rise in the failure of chemotherapeutics and antibiotic resistance exhibited by pathogenic microbial infectious agents has led to the screening of several medicinal plants for their potential antimicrobial activity. In our study we have selected two medicinal plants which are naturally highly available and are quite common: Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and Neem (Azadirachta indica). In the present investigation, the methanolic bark and leaf extracts of Eucalyptus and Neem were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against common human pathogens.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, antimicrobial activity, Eucalyptus and Neem etc.