PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL SCREENING OF SEVEN APOCYNACEAE SPECIES AGAINST HUMAN PATHOGENS

The antibacterial activity of the methanol extracts of seven selected plant species belonging to the family Apocynaceae, collected from different localities of Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu were screened against ten infectious pathogens. Antibacterial activities of the extracts were determined by the agar disc diffusion method. MIC of the plant extracts that showed some efficacy against pathogens at the minimum concentration was noted. Ciprofloxacin (5 mcg/disc) was used as positive control for comparison of the inhibition zones. The methanolic extracts of A. cathartica and P. alba showed active inhibition against most of the tested human pathogens.