In-vitro Antiprotozoal Activity of Zizyphus jujuba Mill and Lamk.

Zizyphus jujuba Mill and Lamk. Is also called as Baer tree, belongs to the family Rhamnaceae. The dried bark was powdered and extracted with various solvents by successive soxhlet hot extraction process with increasing order of polarity. On phytochemical investigation, the different extracts has shown the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids and tannins. The different extracts were screened for antiprotozoal activity on Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia using metronidazole as standard drug. Both acetone and methanol extract showed significant antiprotozoal activity compared to standard drug metronidazole.