Abstract

Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of the leaf, stem, seed and fruit of an Indian medicinal plant, Bryonopsis laciniosa, used traditionally as potent medication in healing several ailments such as adenopathy, ague, asthma, bronchitis, cholera, colic, consumption, convulsion, cough, fertility and phthisis, was tested against different pathogenic microorganisms by agar well diffusion method. Leaf and stem extracts of B. Laciniosa exhibited antimicrobial activity against different Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The extents of the growth inhibition of bacteria were measured for each extract and Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteusand Bacillus cerues exhibited significant growth inhibition zone. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) exhibited by stem extract against the tested organisms ranged between 0.156 and 5 mg/ml; and for leaf extracts it varied between 0.625 and 10 mg/ml. Antimicrobial activities of the crude plant extracts were comparable to those of the standard antibiotics. This study concluded that B. Laciniosa used as a traditional medicinal plant has antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms.

Key words: Medicinal plant, Bryonopsis laciniosa, ethanol extract, antimicrobial activity.