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In Ayurveda, various herbal preparations are clinically used to prevent or cure infectious diseases. Herbal preparations such as Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna, Manjistadi churna, Sukhsarak churna, Ajmodadi churna, Shivkshar pachan churna, Mahasudarshan churna, Swadist Virechan churna and Pipramool churna were investigated by preparing their organic solvent extract for antibacterial potential against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhimurium and Proteus vulgaris, respectively. In the present study, Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna were potent antibacterial agents against S. epidermidis, P. vulgaris, S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. The study supports the use of these herbal preparations not only as dietary supplements but also as agents to prevent or control enteric bacterial infections.

Antibacterial activities of aqueous, acetone, ethanol and methanol extracts of fruits of Helicteres isora (Mororphali) were studied. The fruit aqueous extracts of H. isora showed prominent antibacterial activities against E.coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhimurium and Proteus vulgaris; moderate activity against Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and least activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The aqueous extract showed maximal, the ethanol and methanol extract moderate and acetone extracts least antibacterial activities. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of carbohydrates, anthraquinon glycosides, proteins, tannin and phenolic compounds and steroids These antibacterial properties supports its traditional use of fruits of H. isora in the treatment of enteric or diarrhoeal infections.

The medicinal plant has been in perpetual use as a traditional medicine in most Asian and African countries. One such plant is Desmostachya bipinnata Linn., a perennial plant of Poaceae family, which has been widely used to treat some infectious diseases. The screening of this plant revealed substantial phytochemicals such as flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides and other constituents, which possess a wide range of biological activities such as antiulcerogenic, anti-helicobacter, anti-inflammatory and other antimicrobial activity. The major compounds found in D. bipinnata are L-limonene, camphene, β-eudesmol, trycin-7-glucoside and trycin. So far, research on this plant demonstrated that, the isolated compounds are safe for human use. However, further activities of the phytochemicals and their medicinal aspects needs to be studied so that more new compounds can be identified, which can be used for the treatment of different bacterial infections. This review is an attempt to comprise all the study of plant phytochemical and antimicrobial properties.

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