A STUDY ON THE ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECTS OF CRUDE PRINCIPLES EXTRACTED FROM PIPER BETLE LINN. LEAF STALKS AND OCIMUM SANCTUM LINN. LEAVES

The nature harbours a huge source of active principles possessing antimicrobial property. This phenomenon provokes microbiologists, ethnopharmacologist and natural product chemists to perform extensive research on phytoprinciples. The extensive use of these principles in phytotherapy is becoming an excellent alternative strategy against the occurrence of microbial resistance due to some conventional medicines. The current research article dealt with ethanolic crude extractives from the dried leaves of Ocimum sanctum Linn. and fresh Leaf stalks of Piper betle  Linn. were screened for  its antimicrobial activity using the agar-well diffusion method. The sample of the mentioned herbs could be easily found in large amount from the environment of north east region in India. In our present study with Ocimum sanctum L. (tulsi) leaf extract showed marked inhibitory effect on Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E.coli, Vibrio cholerae  where a  highest zone of inhibition estimated was 30 mm against  E. coli. Tulsi extractive possess partial inhibition against Candida albicans. Crude ethanolic extractive of Piper betle Linn. (Paan) stalk remarkably inhibited. A. niger, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans where the highest inhibition zone was 27 mm against Aspergillus niger. This study has also focussed about the microbiostatic nature of the crude extracts isolated from the mentioned herbal parts. This work also emphasizes on the strategy for recycling or reusing betle stalks thrown as a waste materials beside many paan shop and tulsi leaves as thrown outside many temples after worshipping.