Delonix elata, Enicostemma axillare, Merremia tridentata, Mollugo cerviana and Solanum incanum are medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of various ailments. These plants were selected to evaluate their potential antibacterial activity. To determine antibacterial activity and phytochemicals in the crude extracts of five medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of various ailments like rheumatism, piles fever, skin diseases and snake bite. The antibacterial activity of organic solvent extracts of these plants were determined by disc diffusion and broth dilution techniques against grampositive bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Results revealed that the chloroform and methanol extracts of D. elata and methanol extracts of M. cerviana exhibited significant antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative strains with minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranging from 1.5 to 100 mg/ml. Methanol extracts of M. tridentata exhibited activity only against gram-positive bacterial strains with MBC ranging from 12.5 to 100 mg/ml. Extracts of E. axillare and S. incanum showed activity only against B. subtilis and were not bactericidal at 100 mg/ml. The most susceptible organism to the organic extracts from all the studied plants was B. subtilis and the most resistant organism was P. aeruginosa. The presence of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, tannins, triterpenoids, steroids and glycosides in the extracts of these plants supports their traditional uses as medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments. The present study reveals potential use of these plants for developing new antibacterial compounds against pathogenic microorganisms.

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India, with increased burden of tuberculosis (TB) cases, mandates the search for alternative antimycobacterial drugs. Medicinal plants have the potential to act against the mycobacterium with less or no side effects like hepatotoxicity caused by the most anti-TB drugs. This study is aimed to investigate the antimycobacterial activity of various extracts of whole plant, Aristolochia bracteolata against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and hepatoprotective activity against anti-TB drug induced hepatotoxicity in HepG2 cell line. Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) is used to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of samples for antimycobacterial activity and 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to determine the effect of extract and standard, silymarin on isoniazid (INH) induced toxicity in HepG2 cells, based on the cell viability. The whole plant was extracted using petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanol based on the polarity of solvents in the Soxhlet extractor successively and their yield value is determined. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of constituents like alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, saponin, steroids, carbohydrates and proteins. The results of MIC on Mycobacterium showed that the petroleum ether extract possess good antimycobacterial activity at 25µg/ml. It also showed good hepatoprotective activity against INH induced toxicity on increasing concentrations. So, the plant has the potential to act as adjunct to TB chemotherapy.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective effect of Delonix elata (L.) leaf extract against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in H9c2 cells. Methods: Doxorubicin has been used to treat cancer, but its clinical uses are limited because of its dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Reactive oxygen species play an important role in the pathological process of cardiotoxicity. The various extracts (pet.ether, ethyl acetate and ethanol) of Delonix elata leaves antioxidant property was evaluated by SOD antioxidant assay and DPPH free radical scavenging assay. The cells were incubated with different concentrations of various extracts of Delonix elata leaves for 2 hr, followed by incubation with 5µM doxorubicin for 24 hr. Cell viability was determined by using MTT assay, respectively. Results: The various extracts of Delonix elata leaves exhibits antioxidant activity. The Doxorubicin significantly decreased cell viability which was accompanied by an increased ROS production. Pre-treatment with various extracts of Delonix elata leaves increased the viability ofcells and inhibit the generation of reactive oxygen species. Conclusion: In this study, findings how that Delonix elata leaf extract exhibited a protective effect against oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte damage. The ethanolic extract of Delonix elata leaves possesses significant antioxidant and cardioprotective activity.