Original Articles
R. Lakshmi Sundaram
Abstract
India is a varietal emporium of medicinal plants and is one of the richest countries in the world in regard to genetic resources of medicinal plants. It exhibits a wide range in topography and climate, which has a bearing on its vegetation and floristic composition. Moreover, the agro-climatic conditions are conducive for introducing and domesticating new exotic plant varieties . In recent years, secondary plant metabolites, previously with unknown pharmacological activities, have been extensively investigated as a source of medicinal agents. Thus, it is anticipated that phytochemicals with adequate antibacterial efficacy were used for the treatment of bacterial infections. Since time immemorial, man has used various parts of plants in the treatment and prevention of various ailments. Therefore, this study was undertaken to focus on the invitro antimicrobial effects of Mesua ferrea were tested for their antibacterial activities on selected strains of bacteria namely, Bacillus cereus, Shigella flexneri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These activities were compared with standard antibiotics, namely, Streptomycin and Ampicillin. Antimicrobial activity was measured using the standard method of diffusion disc plates on agar and the MIC was calculated using dilution method. Our results clearly indicate that the plants have the antimicrobial properties.