Antibacterial activities of some selected plant extracts of local herbal medicines in Lahore-Pakistan

The antibacterial activity of methanol and acetone extracts of five plant extracts being utilized for the cure of different ailments in Pakistan was studied.The extracts of Curcuma zedoaria,Ipomea turpethum,Sphaeranthus indicus,Terminalia chebula and Tricholepis glaberrima were tested against seven different bacterial strains by well diffusion method and microdilution methods.The pattern of zone of inhibition varied with the plant extracts,the solvent used for extraction and organisms tested.Plant extracts(20 mg/mL) were used to evaluate antibacterial activities.The zone of inhibition exhibited by methanol extracts varied between 11 mm and 32 mm while those of acetone extracts varied between 9 mm and 25 mm respectively.The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) exhibited by methanol extracts ranged between(18.4-51.1) mg/mL.Overall methanolic extracts showed more activity than the acetone extracts against tested organisms except for S.indicus.The plants were also analyzed for their elemental composition using atomic absorption spectrophotometer to explore natural sources of essential elements that can be utilized for medicinal purposes.