A study of antimicrobial activity of few medicinal herbs

The use of plants in treatment of burns, dermatophytes and infectious diseases is common in traditional medicine. The development of new antimicrobial agents against resistant pathogens is increasing interest. Therefore, the methanolic extracts from different parts of four medicinal plants used locally in folk medicine were evaluated for antimicrobial activity. It was found that most plant extracts studied had antibacterial and antifungal activities. The methanolic extract of leaf of the plant Azadiracta indica, Acacia nilotica and Witania somnifera showed significant antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherchia coli, stphaylocuccus aureus and pseudomonas fluorescence. Azadiracta indica and A.tinolica showed significant antifungal activity against A. flavus, Ziziphus mauritiana. The rhizome extract of curcuma longa showed significant activity against all tested bacteria and showd higher anti fungal activity against Fusarium verticillioides