Antibacterial Activity of Some Medicinal Plants Used by Tribals Against Uti Causing Pathogens

Bacterial pathogens have evolved numerous defense mechanisms against antimicrobial agents; hence resistance to old and newly produced drugs is on the rise. The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance exhibited by the pathogenic microorganisms have led to the need for screening of several medicinal plants for their potential antimicrobial activity. Thus the present study was undertaken to investigate the antibacterial activity of 15 medicinal plants used by tribals against UTI causing isolates. The antibacterial activity of aqueous, ethanol and acetone extracts of Corriander sativum, Abutilon indicum, Boerhavia diffusa andrographis paniculata, Plantago ovata, Bacopa monnieri, Bauhinia variegata, Flacouratia ramontchi, Embelia tfgerium, Euphorbia ligularia, Zinziber officinale, Terminalia chebula, Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum and Cinnamomum cassia was determined against 33 UTI isolates i.e. Proteus mirabilis (10), Escherichia coli (6), Proteus vulgaris (6), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5), Enterobacter cloacae (2), Providencia pseudomallei (2), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1) and Klebsiella oxytoca (1) by disc diffusion method. Our studies concluded that crude extracts of the selected plants especially the acetone and ethanol extracts exhibited significant activity against UTI pathogens. It can be concluded that these plants can be used to discover natural products that may serve as lead for the development of new pharmaceuticals addressing the major therapeutic needs.