STUDIES ON ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF CYMBOPOGON SPECIES OF KARNATAKA AGAINST CLINICAL ISOLATES

Antimicrobial activity of the various species of Cymbopogon plants like Cymbopogon citrates, Cymbopogon martini, Cymbopogon nardus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon schoenanthus against various pathogens like E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus species, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Serratia marcescens were studied with the help of agar well diffusion method. The samples were extracted with solvents like Methanol, Ethanol, Chloroform, Acetone, Diethyl ether to measure the antimicrobial activity by using Muller-Hinton agar plates. The Chloroform and Diethyl ether extract of Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon martini showed the highest zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In Cymbopogon citrates, all the pathogens were resistant to all the extracts except for Streptococcus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which showed the least susceptibility to all the extracts except for Methanol and Diethyl ether extract. In Cymbopogon schoenanthus, Methanol extract showed the highest zone of inhibition against Staphyloccocus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, but Klebsiella pneumonia showed resistance to all the extracts except for Diethyl ether which showed the least zone of inhibition. In Cymbopogon flexuosus, Methanol, Chloroform, Diethyl ether showed the highest zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens, but Klebsiella pneumonia and Bacillus subtilis showed resistance in all the extracts. In Cymbopogon nardus, all the pathogens showed resistance in all the extracts except for the Chloroform and Methanol, which showed the highest zone of inhibition against Bacillus subtilis.