Antibacterial activity of certain folk medicinal plants from Kashmir Himalayas used to treat microbial infections

The aim of our study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activities of five plant extracts against two fish pathogenic bacteria, namely, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive bacteria) and Aeromonas hydrophila (Gram negative bacteria). Ethanolic extracts of the five different herbs namely Fumaria indica, Adiantum capillus, Nepata cataria, Levandula stoeches and Borago officinalis collected from registered herbal shops were subjected to test antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Aeromonas hydrophila by disc diffusion method (Inhibition Zone measurement) compared to Novobiocin and Tetracycline as standardantibiotics. The extracts of F. indica, B. officinalis and L. stoeches showed broad spectrum of inhibitory activity against S. aureus with zone of inhibition 7.26±0.25, 5.9±0.1 and 5.2±0.25 respectively at concentration of 100mg/ml. A. capillus showed moderate effect against S. aureus with zone of inhibition 3.9±0.05. Extracts of B. officinalis, L. stoeches and F. indica in case of A. hydrophila were also seen effective with zone of inhibition 3.2±0.26, 2.83±0.15 and 2.03±0.15 respectively at 100mg/ml. A. capillus and N. cataria show minimal to no inhibitory activity against A. hydrophila. Result revealed that the extracts were found to inhibit the growth of both bacterial strains with the maximum inhibitory effect seen against S. aureus and mild inhibitory effect was observed against A. hydrophilla. The results of our study suggested that B. officinalis, L. stoeches, and F. indica could be used as active antibacterial ingredients in contemporary drug formulation.