Antibacterial activity of some selected plants traditionally used as medicine in Manipur

Methanolic leaf extracts of the plant species Elsholtzia blanda Benth., Elsholtzia communis (Collett & Hemsl) Diels., Polygonum posumbu Buchanam-Hamilton ex D. Don and Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. using methanol as a solvent were tested against 10 human pathogenic bacteria for potential antibacterial activity. The study revealed that all extracts show varied degree of antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial pathogens. The antibacterial activity was determined using agar well diffusion method. Methanolic extract of the leaf Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. showed antibacterial activity against five bacterial strains from among the ten bacteria tested followed by Polygonum posumbu, Elsholtzia communis and Elsholtzia blanda. Clostridium sporogenes was found to be susceptible to all the plants tested. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the plants against the tested organism ranged between 3.125-12.5 mg/ml. Hence these plants can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of the new pharmaceuticals.Keywords: Antibacterial, human pathogens, methanolic extract, traditional medicineAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(13), 1491-149