IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTY OF CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS (LINN.) G. DON. VAR. “ROSEA” AND “ALBA” Original Article AMRESH KUMAR YADAV * Department of Botany, Patna University, Patna 800005, Bihar, India Email: amresh27@gmail.com , SANJEEV KUMAR AMBASTA, SURENDRA KUMAR PRASAD, M. P. TRIVEDI Received: 27 Jan 2018 Revised and Accepted: 22 Mar 2018 ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial property of crude, aqueous and organic solvent extract from leaf, stem and root parts of two different var. of Catharanthus roseus (i.e. “rosea” and “alba”) under in vitro conditions on various human pathogenic bacteria. Methods: Antibacterial activity of crude (fresh), aqueous, ethanolic, methanolic and equimolar (1:1) mixture of ethanolic dried leaf extract of variety “rosea” and “alba” was evaluated against various pathogenic bacteria viz. Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by disk diffusion method under in vitro conditions. Results: Gram-positive bacteria were found to be more susceptible than Gram-negative. Dried extracts of root, stem and leaf of C. roseus var. “rosea” and “alba” plants showed maximum antibacterial potency against all the test microorganisms. The equimolar mixture of ethanolic dried leaf extracts of species “rosea” and “alba” exhibited the maximum zone of inhibition against B. subtilis, E. coli and S. aureus as compare to extract prepared from individual parts. The findings of the ethanolic mixture of dried leaves of the two varieties on the tested bactera confirm that the effect is potentiating which may be synergistic or additive. Conclusion: From the findings, it could be inferred that C. roseus var. “rosea” and “alba” could be efficiently used in the development of new life- saving drugs against bacterial pathogens. Keywords: Catharanthus roseus, Pathogenic bacteria (B. subtilis, E. coli, S. aureus), In vitro, Zone of Inhibition, Drug resistance © 2018 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2018v10i5.24977 INTRODUCTION The increasing resistance of microorganisms against the existing drugs is emerging as a global threat in therapy [1]. Irregular and inappropriate use of synthetic drugs against bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens develop resistance against antibiotics due to the production of some chemical substances which block the action of antimicrobial drugs along with the change in target sites and their ability to penetrate across the cell wall. Such kinds of drugs may also cause oxidative stress, production of radicals, damages of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, cells, organs, and organ system. It has been estimated that about 80% of the world population depends on plant- derived products. World Health Organization (WHO) depicted that 28% of plant-based products and their derivatives are available as the source of drugs [2]. Antimicrobial drugs of plant origin are safe, no side effects, host-specific, and no drug-drug interaction has been reported. Drugs of plant origin have an added advantage of being highly effective and offer broad-spectrum activity, hold a wide range of bioactive compounds, which can be used to treat cancers and a wide range of contagious diseases [3]. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics urges resurgence to search for new classes of potentially useful and biologically active chemicals of plant origin to develop and design new drugs, as they provide unique elements of molecular diversity and biological functionality, which are indispensable for novel drug discovery Antimicrobial drugs of plant origin are safe, no side effects, host-specific, and no drug-drug interaction has been reported. Hence, present scenario necessitates a continuing search for new classes of antimicrobial and biologically active compounds derived from medically important flora. [4-8]. Drugs of plant origin have an added advantage of being highly effective and offer broad- spectrum activity, hold a wide range of bioactive compounds, which can be used to treat cancers and a wide range of contagious diseases [9]. Indigenous systems of plant-derived medicine have strong roots as it provides both concepts of therapy and therapeutic principles to complement modern medicine, especially in the management of lifestyle and communicable diseases. Medicinal plant products have proved to be prolonging longevity and good health by minimizing the adverse effect of various chemicals [10]. Such plants are widely distributed in nature, but unfortunately, the small number of them has been explored for the treatment of diseases caused by microorganisms. India is blessed with richest, unexplored medicinal biodiversity and also has an ancient tradition of using herbs to cure various diseases [11]. Catharanthus roseus L. (G). Don, family-Apocynaceae Vinblastin and vincristine (Spindle poison) are known as the principal bio-active compound synthesized from the pink cultivar, which is used to treat acute leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, rhabdomyosarcomas, neuroblastoma and other forms of lymphomas [20-22]. The emerging trend of herbal origin drugs at national and international platform compelled the investigators to evaluate the antibacterial property of crude, aqueous and organic solvent extracts from different plant parts of two cultivars C. roseus var. “rosea” and “alba” under in vitro conditions. is a perennial herb, 25–30 cm tall with dark glossy green leaves. All the plant parts, i.e. root, stem, leaves, and flowers produce several phytoactive compounds viz. Flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, tannin, phenolics, anthocyanins, fatty acids, proteins, phytohormones, and enzymes [12-14]. Traditionally, the two cultivars of Catharanthus have been used in folk medicine to take care of diabetes, high blood pressure, diarrhea and several diseases caused by microorganism [15- 17]. Current scientific findings provide evidence for the anticancerous and antibacterial properties of C. roseus plants [18, 19]. MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection and preparation of plant materials Plants of Catharanthus roseus var. “rosea” (pink flower) and “alba” (white flower) were collected in April and May 2017 from the research garden of Department of Botany, Patna University, Patna. Fresh disease free healthy plants were collected, identified and authenticated by Haines flora [23]. Root, stem, and leaves were International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN- 0975-1491 Vol 10, Issue 5, 2018