Evaluation of anti-entric potential of some angiosperms of India

The enteric bacteria causing gastrointestinal diseases such as typhoid fever, diarrhoea, dysentery are of medical significance as important human pathogens with increase in drug resistant strains coupled with dearth of new and safe effective drugs. Plant derived drugs constitute a major share in the market of anti-infective agents and efforts are being made to reap the benefits of combinatorial chemistry of nature encoded in vast and unique chemo-diveristy of plant kingdom.In this context the present study attempted to analyse the anti-enteric potential of angiosperms of India.54 plant extracts of 35 plants were examined through standardized disc diffusion and broth dilution assays against a test screen of six enteric pathogenic bacteria. Cassia fistula (stem), Rhododendron arboretum (stem), Euphorbia hirta (whole plant), Macrotyloma uniflorum (seed), Punica granatum (flower), Quercus leucotricophora (stem), Rubus lanatus (stem), Aegle marmelos (root), Bergenia ciliata (rhizome and leaf), Tamarix dioica (stem) and Livistona chinensis (leaf, stem and inflorescence),Terminalia viz. T. chebula, T. bellerica and T. arjuna), Eclipta alba (root) and Cassia alata (leaf), Rheum moorcroftianum, Bergenia ciliata, Datura innoxia and Cissus quadrangularis were found active in the bioassays. Myrtus communis and Mallotus philippinensis were the most active plants with an MIC of 0.0075 and 0.03 mg/ml, respectively against Enterococcus faecalis.