ABSTRACT
The present study was designed to evaluate comparatively the antimicrobial potentiality of acetone, alcohol, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extract of stem and leaf of Acalypha chengalpattensis. (Narasimhan) using the agar diffusion method against five strains of bacterial species, namely, Bacillus substilis, Pseudomonas aeruginaosa, Vibrio cholerae, Shigella sinogei, Proteus vulgaricus, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonia. Among the various extracts studied, the acetone stem extract showed highest antibacterial activity against B. Subtillis (2.75 ± 0.95 mm): following by methanol extract (2.5 ± 0.57 mm). The greatest inhibition zone was observed for acetone extract of Acalypha chengalpattensis leaf against Shigella sinogei (2.8 ± 0.83 mm). The alcohol stem extract showed significant antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The chloroform stem extract of A. Chengalpattensis showed moderate activity against four pathogens. However, the stem extract exhibited higher inhibitory effect than the leaf extracts. This research suggests that these findings provide a support for the public to use the plant in traditional medicine for the society.