ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF SOME INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST DRUG-RESISTANT PATHOGENS

Many infectious diseases are known to be treated with herbal remedies throughout the history of mankind. Even today, plant materials continue to play a major role in primary health care as therapeutic remedies in many developing countries. Traditional system of medicine is found to have utilities as many accounts. Due to population rise adequate supply of drug and high cost of treatment in side effect along with drug resistance has been encountered in synthetic drugs, which has lead to an elevated emphasis for the use of plants to treat human diseases. A major part of the total population in developing countries still uses traditional folk medicine for different diseases obtained from plant resources. Due to the indiscriminate use of antimicrobial drugs, the emergency of human pathogenic microorganism’s resistance has been increased. According to WHO, as many as 80% of world’s population living in rural areas rely on herbal traditional medicines as their primary healthcare, the properties and uses of medicinal plants are interestingly growing. Thus, due to prevalence of microbial resistance in today’s era and search for new antimicrobial agents, the aim of the study was localized on the screening of solvent extracts of some Indian medicinal plants viz. Terminallia arjuna, Withania somnifera, Emblica officinalis, Ocimum gratissimum and Trigonella foenum graecum prepared in methanol and petroleum ether against drug resistant pathogens. The results confirmed the antimicrobialpotential of plants against the pathogens studied at concentration 100 mg/ml.