Phytochemical analysis and in vitro antimicrobial activities of Terminalia arjuna leaf, bark and fruit extracts in different solvents

The soxhlet extracts of fruits, bark, and leaf of Terminalia arjuna were obtained using different solvent viz. water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, chloroform and petroleum ether and were analyzed for their phytochemical, antibacterial and antifungal activity. The phytochemical activity of leaf, bark and fruit extract of T. arjuna were performed using all six solvent. Results clearly indicate the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, cardiac glycosides, proteins, phytosterols, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, and phenols/polyphenols. Moreover, proteins, flavonoids, tannins, and phenols were present in almost all leaf, bark and fruit extracts of T. arjuna. Antibacterial activity of the crude extract was studied against two each of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains along with three fungal strains. All microbial strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans) were procured from IMTech Chandigarh. Antimicrobial activity was performed using the disc diffusion method. The antibiogram of bark extract in methanol, acetone and petroleum ether showed significant (p < 0.01) antimicrobial activity. Similarly, significant antimicrobial activity (p < 0.01) was observed within the chloroform and aqueous extract of fruits. Maximum antibacterial and antifungal activity was found to be present in the aqueous extract of fruit indicating its probable significance in the reduction of infectious diseases within the feeding livestock population.