Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANTBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHANOL AND AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACTS OF INDIAN SACRED TREES

Anu Swedha Anandhan* and Amudha Selvi Muniyan

Abstract

In different parts of the world, especially in India, people practice different forms of nature worship. One of the most significant reasons is to save the patches of vegetation in the name of deities. Such vegetation which is conserved for spiritual reasons is called as sacred groves. Sacred groves harbor rich biodiversity including rare, threatened and endangered plants and trees which have potent medicinal properties. Infectious diseases are the second leading cause of death worldwide. Diseases are caused by microbial pathogens, more commonly by bacteria. Due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics, these bacteria have become multi-drug resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics, complicating the treatment of infectious diseases. Medicinal plants provide a vast resource for investigation of antimicrobial agents. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyse and compare the antibacterial efficacy of two leaf crude extracts of Indian sacred trees viz., Aegle marmelous Linn. Correa., Feronia elephantum Linn., Ficus bengalensis Linn., Ficus religiosa Linn., and Mimusops elengi Linn., The extracts were screened by agar disc diffusion method; the extract which showed the highest activity were analysed and the minimum inhibitory concentration was determined. Leaf extracts of Aegle marmelos Linn. Correa showed good antibacterial activity against most of the strains tested at a concentration of 100mg/ml. Therefore, these medicinal trees should be conserved as sacred grooves and explored for drug development properties.

Keywords: sacred groves, medicinal plants, antibacterial.