Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Activity of Boerhavia Erecta

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of methanolic extract of dried whole plant of medicinal important herbs of Boerhavia erecta utilized in our daily routine in the form of vegetables. Qualitative analysis of phytochemical constituents are carbohydrates, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, phenolics, ferric chloride, etc. was performed by well-known tests protocol available in the literature. The phytochemical screening was revealed the extract richness in carbohydrates, glycosides and ferric chloride. The antimicrobial activity was determined in the extract by using ZOI and MIC. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of extract on different concentration (2000, 1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5 μg/ml) of Boerhavia erecta were tested against 2 Gram-positive bacteria- Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans; 2 Gram-negative bacteria- Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; and two Fungal strains- Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. ZOI and MIC were compared with an antibiotic Ciprofloxacin as a standard. The results showed that the remarkable inhibition was shown against only Gram-negative bacteria in both ZOI and MIC. Hence, this plant can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals research.