Phytochemical and antimicrobial investigations on the aerial plant parts of pergularia daemia forsk. (asclepiadaceae): a perennial twinning herb

Abstract

Scientific investigations of medicinal plants have been initiated in many parts of our country because of their contribution to health care. The medicinal properties of plants are due to the presence of phytochemicals. The phytochemicals have anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties. The resistance to antibiotics by bacteria is increasingly becoming a concern to public health. Currently used antibiotic agents fail to bring an end to many bacterial infections due to super-resistant strains. Medicinal plants represent a rich source of antimicrobial agents from which new drugs can be obtained. The phytochemical constituents of plants are desirable, not only for the discovery of therapeutic agents, but also because such information may be of value in disclosing new sources. The present study has been carried out on the phytochemical, anti- oxidant and anti-bacterial character of aerial plant parts of Pergularia daemia. The phytochemical result shows that the flavonoids, phenols and tannins were present abundantly in the Ethanolic extracts of aerial plant parts. Both total phenol and tannins are high in ethanolic extract. The antioxidant activity of the plant was done by using DPPH radical scavenging assay. The antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Pergularia daemia aerial plant parts was tested against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Citrobacter freundii.