Background: (
Artemisia indica
,
Medicago falcata
and
Tecoma stans
are traditionally being use for medicinal purposes in Pakistan. Present study
was designed to check
in-vitro efficacy of these plants against selected bacterial and fungal strains.
Methodology: Chloroform, butanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane extracts of these plants were used for antimicrobial screening. Antibacterial
activity was tested against four pathogenic bacterial strains i.e.
Escherichia coli
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Salmonella typhi
and
Staphylococcus
aureus
while antifungal activity was tested against four fungal strains i.e.
Aspergillus flavus
,
Aspergillus niger
,
Aspergillus fumigatus
and
Fusarium solani
.
Results: Chloroform, butanol and ethyl acetate extracts of
Artemisia indica,
Medicago falcata and
Tecoma stans showed high inhibitory activities
(between 15-20 mm) against
E. coli,
P. aeruginosa and
S. aureus. However, all extracts of
Artemisia indica showed inhibitory activities (12-14
mm) against
Salmonella typhi. As antifungal activities, the n-Hexane and chloroform extracts of
Artemisia indica have completely inhibited the
growth of
Aspergillus flavus and
Fusariun solani, respectively. Ethyl acetate and butanol extract of
Medicago falcata completely inhibited
Fusarium solani and
Aspergillus fumigates, respectively. The n-hexane extract of
Tecoma stan completely inhibited
Fusarium solani, while its
ethyl acetate extract shows excellent activity against
Aspergillus niger.
Conclusions: These findings provide scientific evidence of traditional use of medicinal plants and also indicate the potential of these plants for
the development of antimicrobial agents.
