Antimicrobial activity of <i style="">Crotalaria burhia</i> Buch.-Ham. root

Abstract

<i>Crotalaria burhia </i>Buch.-Ham. (Family- Fabaceae) is used traditionally in the treatment of eczema. Petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of root<i> </i>were screened for antimicrobial activity against different strains of bacteria and fungi. The tests were carried out using agar disc diffusion method at four different concentrations of the crude extracts. All the extracts inhibited the growth of both Gram positive bacteria (<i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i style="">Micrococcus luteus</i>) and Gram negative bacteria (<i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Salmonella typhimurium</i>). The Gram positive bacteria appeared to be more susceptible to the extracts than the Gram negative bacteria. Methanol extract at the concentration ranging between 250 µg/ml and 1000 µg/ml showed inhibitory activity against all bacteria while petroleum ether and chloroform extract showed moderate antimicrobial activity. Aqueous extract was found neutral against all bacteria. The extracts also showed significant antifungal activity against <i>A. niger</i> and <i>C. albicans</i>. All the microorganisms showed dose dependent susceptibility towards the extracts used in the study. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of the extracts and standard drugs were statistically significant. The results indicate the potential of <i style="">C. burhia</i> root in treating microbial infections, thus, justifying their traditional use in the treatment of eczema, which are of infectious origin.