Antibacterial and phytochemical studies on twelve species of Indian medicinal plants

The aqueous and methanol extracts of 12 plants each belonging to different families were evaluated for antibacterial activity against medically important bacteria viz. B. cereus ATCC11778 , S. epidermidids ATCC12228 , E. aerogenes ATCC13048, P. vulgaris NCTC 8313, S. typhimurium ATCC 23564. The in vitro antibacterial activity was performed by agar disc diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The aqueous extracts were inactive but methanol extracts showed some degree of antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains. S. typhimurium was the most resistant bacteria while B. cereus was the most susceptible bacteria. Amongst the plant species screened, methanol extract of Bauhinia variegata bark showed best antibacterial activity