Antimicrobial activity of <i>Momordica cymbalaria</i> Fenzl aerial parts extracts

Abstract

Extracts of <i style="">Momordica cymbalaria</i> Fenzl (Cucurbitaceae) were screened for their <i style="">in vitro</i> antimicrobial activity by agar diffusion method in comparison with standard antibiotics, Ampicillin, Tetracycline, Streptomycin and Gentamycin. The antimicrobial activity of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and aqueous extract of aerial parts of the plant were studied using <i style="">Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>,<i style=""> Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (Clinical isolate, Bacteria) and <i style="">Aspergillus niger</i> (Fungi) as test organisms. All the extracts were effective against all the four microorganisms. The result reveals that the plant extract has very good inhibitory activity against Gram negative organism when compared to standard antibiotics. The ethanol and aqueous extracts of plant has shown significant activity against <i style="">K. pneumoniae</i>,<i style=""> E.coli</i>,<i style=""> P.aeruginosa</i> and <i style="">S. aureus</i>. Similarly the chloroform extract of plant has shown good inhibitory activity against <i style="">A. niger</i>. While all standard antibiotics had a zone of inhibition less than the extracts of <i style="">M. cymbalaria</i> indicating that the plant can fight these organisms effectively and it could be a better alternative to the modern medicine.