Screening of Various Solvent Extracts of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. Leaf for Antibacterial Activity

INTRODUCTION Plants have always played an important role for mankind especially as food and medicine. In the last few decades, there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicine due to failure of modern medicine in providing effective treatment for chronic diseases and emergence of multidrugresistant bacteria. Various extracts from traditional medicinal plants with folklore reputation have been examined [1-4] to identify the source of therapeutic drugs, but there is still an urgent need to screen novel substances that are bioactive towards pathogens with high resistance [5] Gymnema sylvestre R.Br.(Asclepiadaceae) is a large,stout,much branched woody climber which grows predominantly in the tropical forest of central and south India and some parts of Africa[6]. It is used in the treatment of several diseases such as diabetes, corneal opacity, heart diseases, leucorrhoea, urinary infections, liver diseases, snake bite, stomach complaints and dental caries[7].Its roots are used as astringent, emetic, expectorant, refrigerant, stomachic and tonic [8,9]. In the present study, the selection of this plant for evaluation was based on its traditional usages.Although very few works have been done on the antimicrobial activity of this endangered medicinal plant[10,11],it needs further study for verification of its activity against disease-causing microorganisms. This paper describes the evaluation of the antibacterial potency of Gymnema sylvestre from West Bengal, India.