INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMMUNOPATHOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY Vol. 21, no. 4, 1013-1020 (2008) ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTY OF A HERBAL PREPARATION CONTAINING DALBERGIA SISSOO AND DATURA STRAMONIUM WITH COW URINE AGAINST PATHOGENIC BACTERIA H. YADAyl, M. YADAy2, S. JAIN3,A. BHARDWAJ4, V. SINGH5, O. PARKASH6 and F. MAROTTA? 'Subhash Chandra Bose College ofProfessional Studies, Gwalior; 2S0S in Chemistry, Jiwaji University, Gwalior, India; 'Department ofFood Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA; 4Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology, Meerut, UP., India; 'Department of Microbiology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, MP., India; 'National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra, UP., India; 'Nutraceutical- Nutragenomic Unit, GAIA Foundation, Milan, Italy ReceivedJune 23, 2008 - AcceptedSeptember 25, 2008 In this study, a herbal preparation containing Dalbergia sissoo and Datura stramoium with cow urine (DSDS), was evaluated for its antibacterial potential against pathogenic strains of gram- positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacteria. Antibacterial activity was compared to standard antibiotic drugs i.e, Chloramphenicol (30 meg), Ampicillin (10 meg), Nalidixic acid (10 meg) and Rifampicin (30 meg). Cow urine extract was found to be most active against both gram-positive as well as gram-negative bacteria. Clinical isolate of S. aureus showed higher sensitivity towards cow urine extract of DSDS than standard strains, and inhibited growth on most regulatory levels such as inhibition of protein, DNA, RNA and peptidoglycan synthesis. The results of the present study shows that the cow urine extract of DSDS may be used as a potent antiseptic preparation for prevention and treatment of chronic bacterial infections. Bacterial infections are an emerging problem worldwide, especially in developing countries, such as India (l). Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, are mainly responsible for postoperative wound infection, toxic shock syndrome, scaled skin syndrome, septicemia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and food poisoning (2). Streptococcus pneumoniae causes lobar pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, bronchitis, endocarditis, sinusitis, and conjunctivitis (3). Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli, which resides in human intestine, causes lower urinary tract infection, cholecystitis or septicemia, and another strain, Klebsiella pneumoniae, causes chest infections, urinary infections and wound infections (4-5). Various antibiotics are available on the market to treat the bacterial infectious diseases by working on various targets to inhibit pathogen growth. Gram- positive and gram-negative bacteria can be inhibited by antibiotics viz. Chloramphenicol, Nalidixic acid, Key words: Dalbergia sissoo, Datura stramonium, S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiela, P aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, cow urine, antibiotics Mailing address: Dr H. Yadav, Clinical Research Centre, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA e-mail: yadavhariom@gmail.com 1013 0394-6320 (2008) Copyright © by BIOLIFE, s.a.s. This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties