Int J Plant Anim Environ Sci 2021; 11 (2): 251-261 DOI: 10.26502/ijpaes.202105 International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences Vol. 11 No. 2 – June 2021 251 Research Article Antibacterial Screening of Selected Plants from Southwest USA in Search of Potential Natural Alternatives for Antibacterial Application Merhavy ZI 1,2 , Varkey TC 1,4* , Courtois EC 3 , Varkey JA 1,5 , De Bruyn G 1 , Huls CE 1,2 1 Center for Novel Antimicrobial Products, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ, USA 2 Ross University School of Medicine, Bridgetown, Barbados, USA 3 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA 4 Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA 5 University of Notre Dame – Notre Dame, IN, USA * Corresponding Author: Varkey TC. Center for Novel Antimicrobial Products, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ, USA Received: 13 April 2021; Accepted: 22 April 2021; Published: 28 April 2021 Citation: Merhavy ZI, Varkey TC, Courtois EC, Varkey JA, De Bruyn G, Huls CE. Antibacterial Screening of Selected Plants from Southwest USA in Search of Potential Natural Alternatives for Antibacterial Application. International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences 11 (2021): 251-261. Abstract The emergence of drug resistant microorganisms has posed important public health issues. The annual cost of treating antibiotic resistant infections in the United States alone has been estimated to be as high as $30 billion. This has led to an urgent need for new antimicrobial drugs, particularly from natural resources. Phytochemicals obtained from medicinal plants have been used widely in the development of novel therapeutics including antimicrobial agents.