PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST GRAM-POSITIVE AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

Ana Maria  C. Ventura,

PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST GRAM-POSITIVE AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

Discipline: Health

Abstract:

The increasing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is considered as one of the greatest threats to mankind. Unfortunately, a very small number of antibiotics are being developed to address this problem. Imperata cylindrica, Heliotropium luzonicum vine and Alstonia scholaris (L.) are medicinal plants used by the Bugkalot tribe in Nagtipunan, Quirino. They were investigated for their antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria through disc diffusion method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was also conducted to identify the types of phytochemicals present in the plant extracts. Results showed that these plants can inhibit bacterial growth. The plant extracts produced zones of inhibition that range from active to very active. H. luzonicum vine and A. scholaris (L.) manifested very active inhibition of E. coli and B. subtilis. Their activity is comparable with the activity of Streptomycin which also showed very active inhibition to the two bacteria. The plant samples were found to contain diverse types of phytochemicals which may explain their antibacterial activity.