This study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antidiarrhoeal activity of Fimbristylis aphylla L methanol extract. Preliminary phytochemical screenings with the crude extractives demonstrated the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, saponins and reducing sugars. In the disc diffusion antimicrobial sensitivity test, the crude extractive of the whole plant produced moderate to strong antimicrobial activity against the test microorganisms. The zone of inhibition was found within the range of 10.33-15.33 mm. The strongest zone of inhibition was found against Shigella dysenteriae. The extractive was found active against only a few number of test pathogens. In the cytotoxicity test by brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the extract exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity by 50 and 90% mortality rates as LC 50 and LC 90 values of 5.87 and 9.33 µg/ml respectively. A moderate dose-dependent antidiarrhoeal activity was found by the methanol extract of the plant.

Plants are rich source of pharmacologically active agents, which could be explored in disease management. Methanol, ethanol, and petroleum ether extracts of the whole plant of Allophylus cobbe L. were evaluated for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. In vitro antimicrobial sensitivity by disk diffusion method was conducted against four Gram-positive and seven Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria and seven fungi. In the antibacterial and antifungal sensitivity tests, growth inhibition was found to be within the range of 10.0–17.67 mm. Strong zone of inhibition by the ethanol extract of A. cobbe (EEAC) was found against Trichophyton spp. With some exceptions, a mild to strong antimicrobial activity was observed in this study. Significant minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; 15.625 μg/ml) was found against Trichophyton spp. Other detected MICs were within the range of 31.25–125 μg/ml. The petroleum ether extract of the plant exhibited strong cytotoxicity in the brine shrimp lethality bioassay test.