Antimicrobial Studies and Identification of Cellular Components of Dicranopteris Linearis from Tirumala Hills

Pteridophytes are the earliest land plants and are deemed to be the second largest group of land plants. They have known how to man for more than 2000 years for their medicinal values. Yet, they form the neglected group of plants though they possess both economic and medicinal values. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial activities and FTIR studies of Dicranopteris linearis. Dried leaf powder of Dicranopteris linearis was successively extracted with Acetone, Chloroform, Methanol and Diethylether using soxhlet extracter. All the extracts screened for its antibacterial and antifungal activity using agar disc diffusion method. The microorganisms used for antibacterial and antifungal were Escherichiae coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger, Macrophomina phaseolina, Curvularia lunata and Aspergillus flavus. Gentamicin 5 µg/ml was invoked as standard. Cellular components were designated by FTIR spectroscopy. Dicranopteris linearis showed high antibacterial activity against S.aureus and S. typhi and antifungal activity against Curvularia lunata, Macrophomina phaseolina and Aspergillus niger. FTIR spectroscopic studies have revealed the existence of various chemical constituents of Dicranopteris linearis. In the present study, the plant extracts revealed highest antimicrobial activity against effective pathogens and the presence of carbohydrates, glycogen, aminoacids, amides and lipids.