Antimicrobial analysis of Triphala and comparison with its individual constituents.

Triphala, a well known ayurvedic formulation is used against number of ailments since ancient times. It consists of Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia bellerica in equal proportion. Triphala as a whole and its three individual constituents show specific antimicrobial activity against certain bacteria and fungi. Antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract of triphala and its constituents was studied against P.aeruginasa, E.coli , B.subtilis, K. pneumoniae and S.aureus by cup-plate method. Triphala was found strongly bactericidal against P. aeruginosa with 1.8 cm of inhibitory zone. This was on account of T. chebula which showed 1.2 cm of inhibitory zone against the same pathogen, followed by E. coli and other two Gram positive bacteria. T. bellerica however showed maximum inhibitory activity against B.subtilis by showing 2.2 cm of inhibitory zone. It was confirmed that antimicrobial activity against Gram negative bacteria is due to T. chebula and E. officinalis while antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria is on account of T. bellerica. Antifungal activity of Triphala and its constituents was studied against two pathogenic fungi viz. Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans by the same method. Triphala was found more efficient against A. niger, this was on account of T. bellerica which showed nearly 2 cm zone of inhibition. T. bellerica and Triphala showed more than 2 cm inhibitory zone against C. albicans. Inhibitory zone of Emblica officinalis was observed to be of 1.5-2 cm against both the fungi, whereas T. chebula did not show inhibitory activity against C. albicans but showed nearly 1 cm of inhibitory zone against A. niger. This confirms that the antifungal activity of Triphala is primarily due to T. bellerica and E. offiicinalis.

Antifungal and proteolytic activities of endophytic fungi isolated from Piper hispidum Sw

Endophytes are being considered for use in biological control, and the enzymes they secrete might facilitate their initial colonization of internal plant tissues and direct interactions with microbial pathogens. Microbial proteases are also biotechnologically important products employed in bioremediation processes, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical, photographic and food industries. In the present study, we evaluated antagonism and competitive interactions between 98 fungal endophytes and Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum sp., Phyllosticta citricarpa and Moniliophthora perniciosa. We also examined the proteolytic activities of endophytes grown in liquid medium and conducted cup plate assays. The results showed that certain strains in the assemblage of P. hispidum endophytes are important sources of antifungal properties, primarily Lasiodiplodia theobromae JF766989, which reduced phytopathogen growth by approximately 54 to 65%. We detected 28 endophytes producing enzymatic halos of up to 16.40 mm in diameter. The results obtained in the present study highlight the proteolytic activity of the endophytes Phoma herbarum JF766995 and Schizophyllum commune JF766994, which presented the highest enzymatic halo diameters under at least one culture condition tested. The increased activities of certain isolates in the presence of rice or soy flour as a substrate (with halos up to 17.67 mm in diameter) suggests that these endophytes have the potential to produce enzymes using agricultural wastes.

Study of Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Potential of The Leaves of Nilgirianthus Ciliatus Linn.

The present study was carried out to identify the phytochemical constituents and to evaluate antibacterial and antifungal activity of Nilgirianthus ciliatus Linn using ethanol, chloroform, petroleum ether and aqueous extracts on selected four bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two fungal strains Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans (Fungus-unicellular/ multicellular yeast). For the antimicrobial test, cup plate method was used and the zone of inhibition was measured in mm. The extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity and were compared with Amoxicillin and Ketoconazole. The chloroform extract showed the higher antibacterial activity with a zone of inhibition of 23mm against gram negative pathogens and minimum 15mm against Aspergillus niger from 150mcg/ml. Ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts showed similar activity with an inhibition zone of 12 and 11 mm against fungal strains Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger respectively from 150mcg/ml. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins; proteins and tannins. The powdered leaves were analyzed for various physicochemical constants also.

In vitro Antibacterial Activity of Crude Extracts Produced by Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Piper hispidum Sw.

Endophytic fungi inhabit the interior of plants without causing apparent harm to them and constitute an alternative for the control of human pathogens, since they can synthesize bioactive compounds. The plant Piper hispidum Sw. has several medicinal properties and harbors a diversity of endophytes. In this present study, four endophytic fungi from P. hispidum were used for obtaining crude ethyl acetate extracts that were tested against Enterococcus hirae, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus, using cup plate technique. The obtainment resulted in crude ethyl acetate extracts with a final concentration between 19.9 and 61.4 mg/ml. the antibacterial tests presented satisfactory results, where the pathogenic bacteria were inhibited by the four extracts tested, except for E. hirae that was inhibited by two extracts. Means of inhibition halos ranged from 9.42±0.63 to 14.08±1.70 mm. Analysis of variance showed that the extract produced by endophyte Lasiodiplodia theobromae was the most effective against all bacteria except for S. typhi, which was more inhibited by the extract of an endophyte from Diaporthales order. Therefore, this study indicates that endophytes from medicinal plant P. hispidum could be potential sources of antibacterial substances, with emphasis on L. theobromae.

Antibacterial activity of psidium guajava l. methanol leaf extract against plant pathogenic bacteria in the genera pectobacterium and xanthomonas.

The antibacterial activity of methanol leaf extract of Psidium guajava L. was performed on six plant pathogenic bacteria, namely Xanthomonas citri, Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, Xanthomonas oryzae, Xanthomonas oryzicola, Pectobacterium carotovorum and Pectobacterium chrysanthemi by cup-plate agar diffusion method. Different concentrations gave different range of means diameter inhibition zones where at concentrations o f 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/ml, the range was 10.00±0.00 mm to 15.00±0.00 mm, 12.00±0.00 mm to 17.00±0.00 mm, 15.00±0.00 mm to 20.00±0.00 mm and 16.00±0.00 mm to 25.00±0.00 mm, respectively. X. oryzae gave the highest mean diameter inhibition zone when tested with all concentrations compared to the mean diameter inhibition zones of other plant pathogenic bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanol extracts was performed by macrobroth dilution technique and the lowest concentration used that was still able to inhibit the bacterial growth was 0.391 mg/ml for X. oryzae.

Screening of Quercus infectoria gall extracts as anti-bacterial agents against dental pathogens.

Background and Objectives: A number of bacteria have now become antibiotic-resistant. This increases the importance of ayurvedic drugs. We report, here, the activity of different extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and water) of Quercus infectoria galls against dental pathogens - Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus salivarius, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus acidophilus (designated) and Streptococcus sanguis (isolated). Materials and Methods: The cup-plate method was used in anti-bacterial activity of the extracts at concentration of 200 mg/ml against dental pathogens. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of most effective extracts against the most susceptible bacteria were determined using a two-fold serial micro dilution method. Results: Methanolic extract showed maximum anti-bacterial activity against all the bacteria. The most susceptible bacteria were S. sanguis followed by S. aureus, S. mutans, S. salivarius and L. acidophilus. The MIC values showed that methanolic extract was more effective than water extract. Conclusion: The plant has the potential to generate herbal metabolites. The crude extracts demonstrating anti-dental caries activity could result in the discovery of new chemical classes of antibiotics. These chemical classes of antibiotics could serve as selective agents for the maintenance of human health and provide bio-chemical tools for the study of infectious diseases.