Abstract

The sensitivity of five pathogenic multi drug resistant bacteria (Bacillus subtilis,Erwinia chrysanthemi, Escherichia coli, Agrobacterium tumefaciens andXanthomonas phaseoli) was tested against the crude leaf organic extracts (methanol, ethanol, chloroform and hexane) and aqueous extracts of a Kumaun Himalayan gymnospermous plant Juniperus communis (Cupressaceae), employing disc diffusion method. All the extracts of Juniperus communis were found effective by showing a mark zone of inhibition except aqueous extract. The hexane extract showed maximum inhibition against the test microorganisms (ZOI, 16 – 21 mm) followed by ethanol, methanol and chloroform extract (ZOI, 6 – 17 mm). The inhibitory activity of these extracts was found very effective as compared to Ampicillin (10 mcg) and Erythromycin (15 mcg) standard antibiotics which were used as positive control against these tested microorganisms.

Key words: Kumaun Himalaya, antibacterial activity, Juniperus communis, gymnosperm, crude extract, ampicillin, erythromycin.