Molecular and Microbiology Research Laboratory Environmental Biotechnology Division, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu-632 014, India
*Corresponding Author E-mail: kokatibhaskar@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 12 February, 2013.
The aim of this study was to screen the aqueous extract of leaves of Ipomoea fistulosa (Convolvulaceae), Furcraea foetida (Agavaceae), and Barleria mysorensis (Acanthaceae) for antimicrobial activity by in vitro methods. Antimicrobial activity was performed by agar well diffusion method on Muller Hinton agar and Potato Dextrose agar for bacteria and fungi respectively. Among the three plant I. fistulosa showed the highest activity, it showed broad spectrum activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Micrococcus letues, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. The aqueous extract of I. fistulosa showed maximum relative percentage inhibition against S. aureus (189.71%). Minimum inhibitory concentration was performed by modified agar well diffusion method on Muller Hinton agar and Potato Dextrose agar for bacteria and fungi respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration values of aqueous extract of I. fistulosa varied from 0.05–50 mg/ml. With these results we conclude that aqueous extract of I. fistulosa leaves possess significant antimicrobial activity against a variety of microorganisms and could be used as a potential source of antimicrobial compounds.
Ipomoea fistulosa, Furcraea foetida, Barleria mysorensis, antimicrobial activity, minimum inhibitory concentration
