Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Activity of Leonotis nepetifolia L. Leaves

Leonotis nepetifolia L., a member of the family Lamiaceae, used in traditional medicine. The present investigation deals with the phytochemical and antimicrobial activity of ethanol extract of L. nepetifolia L. leaves. Preliminary screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins in high amount whereas tannins, phenols and terpenoids were found to be least, while steroids, glycosides, amino acid and carbohydrates were absent in leaves. The antimicrobial activity of the leaf extract was evaluated using the disk diffusion method four bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two fungal strains Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans were used in the study. The antimicrobial study revealed that the leaf extract was effective against bacteria ( E. coli and S. aureus ) and fungi ( C. albicans ).