ISSN 2319 - 8788 Int J of Interdisci Res and Revs. 2013 Full Length Research Article Premalatha et al. Selvam Indian Research Publications @ Selvam Educational Institutions IJIRR Vol.01 Issue 02 Pp 65 -72 Page65 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Reviews www.ijirr.selvamcollege.in SCREENING OF SOME SELECTED INDIGENOUS PLANTS FOR ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY S. Premalatha 1 , A. Jeyasankar 2 , and K.Elumalai 3* 1 Department of Botany, Arignar Anna Government Arts College,Musiri-621 211 Tamil Nadu, India. 2 Department of Zoology, Arignar Anna Government Arts College,Musiri-621 211 Tamil Nadu, India. 3 Unit of Entomotoxicity, Department of Advanced Zoology & Biotechnology, Govt. Arts College Nandanam, Chennai – 600 035, Tamil Nadu, India Article info ABSTRACT Received 28 Dec 2012 Revised 10 Jan 2013 Accepted 12 Jan 2013 Available Online 18 Jan 2013 Investigation of the antibacterial activity of some selected indigenous plants against important pathogens. Screening of acetone, chloroform and methanol extracts of twenty different plants were tested in vitro by the disk diffusion method against seven bacterial strains, namely, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermids. Susceptibility of seven reference bacterial strains to some antibiotics in nutrient agar was also tested. Methanol extracts C. auriculata showed strongest activity against all tested species and followed by Emblica officinalis, Ficus religiosa and Hibiscus rosasinensis. The screening of various plant extracts and their results support the explored for further investigation and it can be used for the treatment of bacterial diseases. Key words Antibacterial activity, Disk diffusion method, Plant extracts *Corresponding Author K. Elumalai, Centre for Entamotoxicity studies, Govt. Arts College (Autonomous), Nandanam, Chennai– 600 035 e-mail: sankar.alagarmalai@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Despite the remarkable progress in the field of human medicine, the infectious diseases caused by bacteria, virus, fungi and parasites are still a major threat to public health and universal economies. They are caused by different types of infections such as drug-resistant infections, mostly involving bacteria, and many emerging pathogens are increasing significantly over time. These diseases are the most important cause of early death and killing of about 50 000 people worldwide every day (Mahida and Mohan, 2007; Jones et al., 2008). Diseases are the major causes of death in the developing countries and accounts to 50% of it. The extensive use of the antibiotics to control these diseases has led to the emergence of multidrug resistance (Westh et al., 2004). Bacterial resistance to antibiotics increases mortality likelihood of hospitalization and length of stay in the hospital (Winstanley, 1997). The use of plants as source of remedies for the treatment of many diseases dates back to history and people of many continents have this old tradition. The advent of science into the search for antibiotics largely depends on some of these plants as raw materials. Plant based antimicrobials represent a vast untapped source. The use of plant extract for medicinal treatment has become popular when people realized that the effective life span of antibiotic is limited and over prescription and misuse of traditional antibiotics are causing microbial resistance (Alam et al., 2009). At present, nearly 30% or more of the modern pharmacological drugs are derived directly or indirectly from plants and their extracts dominate in homeopathic or ayurvedic medicines (Murugesan et al., 2011; Banso, 2009). Screening of indigenous medicinal plants against pathogenic bacteria was reported by many researchers (Jeyalakhsmi et al., 2011; Devenya et al., 2012; Kamaraj et al., 2012). The use of medicinal plants in the world especially in India, contributes significantly to primary health care. It is well known that herbal medicine has a large potential, which is still insufficiently explored for utilization in primary health care. There have been many researches on the antimicrobial activity of extracts of higher plants, but relatively few pure compounds have been investigated.In the present studies antibacterial activity of some selected indigenous plants screened against important pathogens. MATERIALS AND METHODS Selection of plant material Twenty medicinal plants were selected based on ethnomedicinal importance. Medicinal plants were Full Length Research Article © SIRP| All Rights Reserved ISSN 2319 - 8788