In Vitro Study Of Indian Herbs With Potent Antimicrobial Activity And Isolation Of Active Molecules From The Selected Herb

Abstract

Resistance to antimicrobial agents has resulted in morbidity and mortality from treatment failures and increased health care costs. On the basis of literature review and the world wide importance of medicinal plants as a source of antimicrobial molecules to fight with drug resistant strains of microbes, the aims and objectives of the present study has been to explore new molecular entities from the body parts of the four plants namely Helicteres isora L, Punica granatum L, Plumbago zeylanica L, Annona squamosa L through isolation ,fractionation and antimicrobial assays using five different strains, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus mutans and Aspergillus flavus followed by establishing their chemical identity so as to pave a way of future development into plant based pure therapeutics for application into new drug development. newlinePetroleum ether and Chloroform extracts of fruits of Helicteres isora Linn are the most potent extracts having relatively higher antimicrobial activity. Accordingly further investigations, to chemically understand the reasons of this potent activity of the two extracts from fruits of Helicteres isora Linn were taken up for further investigations. newlineSince the petroleum ether and chloroform extract were found to possess significant antimicrobial activity when compared to other extracts an attempt was made to fractionate these extracts by column chromatography. newlineThe structural elucidation of the two potential bioactive molecules, representing almost two pure phytochemical HFPA ,HFCA considered responsible for antimicrobial activity was made using spectral techniques. newlineBased on the physical properties crystal with white colour and m.p.135,137, steroid test and spectroscopic data IR, NMR and MS and comparing the data in the scientific literature, the chemical structure of the isolated HFPA compound is that of and#946; sitosterol. newlineThe spectral data of HFCA isolate were compared with the published data of other scientific workers investigating Oleanolic acid. newline