Medicinal plants as antibacterial agents: A special reference to Emblica officinalis, Ocimum sanctum, Aloe vera and Aegle marmelos

Abstract

Plants like, , , Ocimum sanctum Emblica officinalis Aloe vera Aegle marmelos, Withania somnifera Azardirchata indica etc. have been utilized as traditional medicinal remedies to treat various diseases for many centuries, and have been included as important components of present day medications for cough, cold, burning, skin disorders, diabetes, hyper acidity, diarrrhoea, dysentry, constipation, nerve disorder, stress etc. Amongst a long list of traditional medicinal plants, , , , have been reported as some of the Emblica officinalis Ocimum sanctum Alovera Aegle marmelos extensively and commonly used plants in India. The present write up is an attempt to further highlight the scientific work carried out with special focus on antibacterial activities of the said plants. The effort would add to a consistent surveillance of existing data on plant derived antibacterial agents and the target organisms; and could be a trigger to further carve out newer strategies to explore plant wealth as antimicrobial agents. The efforts could evolve newer promising tools to eliminate the harmful organisms.

Antibacterial Effect of Indian Gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica L.) Extract Against ESBL Producing Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria

“…The zone of inhibition of bacterial growth in the presence of amla extracts is 40 -70% of cefotaxime (positive control antibiotic) zone of inhibition indicating the amla comprising of eff ective bioactive compounds which inhibits the bacterial growth as similar to standard antibiotic drug. Recently, similar results were reported in amla with effi cient antioxidant properties with enhanced antibacterial activity due to highest phenolic content [25][26][27][28]. These results reveal that the amla extract is having moderate antibacterial activity and can be used in therapeutics to cure bacterial infectious diseases.…”

Evaluation of phytochemical composition and in-vitro assessment of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of various medicinal plant extracts

“…Rich in potent bioactive secondary metabolites, they are extensively utilized in ethno medical and modern herbal practices to address diverse health conditions [6][7] , offering safe and effective alternatives to synthetic chemicals [8][9] . Natural products extracted from medicinal plants such as neem, tulsi, amla, dhatura, and nimbu are abundant sources of biologically active compounds, forming the basis for developing new pharmaceuticals and medicines for combating microbial infections [10] . The current research is focused on identifying optimal phytomedicines for health maintenance from four plant species: Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae), Basella alba (Basellaceae), Centella asiatica (Apiaceae), and Solanum torvum (Solanaceae), renowned for their versatile medicinal properties [11] .…”