<i>In vitro</i> evaluation of antibacterial activity of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acrostichum aureum</i> Linn.

Abstract

<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acrostichum aureum</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic" lang="EN-GB"> Linn.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">,</i> a medicinal pteridophyte is used as an anthelmintic and styptic in traditional systems of medicine. In the present study, fronds of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">A. aureum</i> were evaluated for their antibacterial potential and phytochemical contents in various solvent extracts of the plant in increasing polarity towards pathogenic bacterial species involved in skin diseases in human beings. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method. The results indicated that the fronds of the plant showed antibacterial activity especially in methanol and acetone extracts. The methanol extract showed maximum activity towards <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Pseudomonas aeruginosa, </i>a resistant strain towards <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Amoxicillin and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Chloramphenicol. Petroleum ether and water extracts did not show any antibacterial activity towards any of the tested organisms. The presence of flavonoids and phenols were observed in various extracts. The high flavonoid and phenol content in the plants may be one of the reasons for their antibacterial activity. Methanolic extract of the plant exhibited minimum inhibitory concentration as 50 mg/ml and minimum bactericidal concentration as 25 mg/ml towards <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">P. aeruginosa.</i>

</span></span></span>