- Folklore Medicinal plant, Acalypha fruticosa, Antibacterial activity, Microorganisms
Abstract
The present study is to confirm the antibacterial efficacy of root extracts of the folklore medicinal plant species, Acalypha fruticosa by using three alcoholic solvents viz; petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol were tested against ten human pathogenic bacteria viz., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. stutzeri,
Escherichia coli, Micrococcus sp., Lactobacillus sp., Servatia sp., Moraxetta sp., Bacillus subtilis, B. thuriengensis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae for assessing the antibacterial properties by adapting disc diffusion method. The results of the study revealed that all extracts showed varied degree of antibacterial activity against the tested pathogens. However, the methanol extract exhibited higher inhibition zone (21.83 mm) against the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. This result supports the therapeutic importance of the species, Acalypha fruticosa in curing infectious diseases and encourages the extensive use of this species in health carepractices.