ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PHYTO-CHEMICALS OBTAINED FROM LEAFEXTRACTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS ON PATHOGENS OF SEMI-ARID SOIL

Abstract

Plants being the major source of natural products like vitamins, minerals, immune– modulators, possess anti-pathogenic activities and act as good source of antimicrobial agents. This makes plants to occupy importance in traditional medicine. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of metabolites such as saponin, flavonoid, alkaloid, carbohydrate, glycoside, tannin and oil phenolic compound responsible for the antibacterial activity of these plants. Diffusion and dilution methods have been, employed to study the comparative antimicrobial activities of extracts of plants Neem (Azadirachta indica) Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) and Aloe vera. The extracts of these plants under study, were used against bacteria isolated from the semi-arid soil in Banasthali region, the strains
identified are Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Azadirachta indica showed maximum inhibition against S.aureus, whereas Ocimum sanctum showed maximum zone against E.coli and Aloe vera against Pseudomonas fluroscens. The aqueous extracts of various leaves were investigated individually for antimicrobial activity against these pathogens and showed less inhibitory activity against most of the test bacterial pathogens.