Shigellocidal activity of some medicinal plants used in folklore remedies by tribals of Mahakoshal region of Central India

摘要

The present study has been conducted to evaluate the shigellocidal activity of traditional folk medicine used by tribal people of Mahakoshal region in Central India for the treatment of infectious diseases. Shigellocidal activity was detected using disc diffusion assay and TLC bioautography. In the search for bioactive compounds, aqueous, ethanol, chloroform and acetone extracts of 25 Indian folklore medicinal plants were screened for shigellocidal property. The shigellocidal activity was observed in ethanolic extract of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde syn. Saraca indica auct non Linn., Bacopa monnieri (Linn.) Penn., Zingiber officinale Rosc . , and Terminalia chebula Retz. with the MIC range of 5-10 mg/ml, 5-15mg/ml, 5-15mg/ml and 5-10mg/ml, respectively. While chloroform extract of Pimpinella anisum Linn. and Azadirachta indica A. Juss. showed shigellocidal activity with MIC range between 5-10mg/ml and 5-20mg/ml, respectively. The active antibacterial compounds analysed by bioautography, were further confirmed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). It is concluded that the crude chloroform extract of P . anisum (seed) containing saponin, exhibited maximum shigellocidal activity at 10mg/ml concentration with 8-12 mm inhibitory zone against all the isolates of Shigella dysenteriae . Thus, this plant can be used as potential source of natural antimicrobial against Shigella dysenteriae .