PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE METHANOL EXTRACT OF ALTERNANTHERA PHILOXEROIDES (MART.) GRISEB

The present work is aimed at exploring the phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of methanol leaf extract of Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. Many plants have been used medicinally because of their antimicrobial traits, which are due to compounds synthesized in the secondary metabolism of the plant. The plant material was extracted with methanol by cold maceration process. The preliminary phytochemical screening was carried out and the presence of carbohydrates, aminoacids, proteins, cardiac glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds were observed. The methanol extract of A.philoxeroides possess appreciable levels of tannin and flavonoid contents, 5.6 mg of GAE/gm and 4.5 mg of rutin/gm of extract respectively. The antimicrobial activity was carried by agar well diffusion method against bacteria S.aureus, B.subtilis, B.megaterium, E.faecalis, S.mutans, E.coli, K.pneumoniae, P.aeruginosa and P.vulgaris. Methanol extract exhibited maximum activity (16±0.57mm) against E.coli. The results of MIC indicated that S.aureus and E.coli were the most sensitive bacteria to A.philoxeroides leaf methanol extract, inhibited at lowest concentration of 12.5µg/ml.