Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Studies on Leaf and Root Extracts of Asclepias Curassavica (L)

Asclepias curassavica like most of the medicinal plants has highest significance for its valuable secondary metabolites (glycosides and saponins). The clones produced thereof hence need to maintain their absolute genetic stability so that no unwanted variation in secondary metabolite yield can occur. Plant extracts that inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms without harming the host may have potential application as therapeutic agents. Hence the present study was performed to investigate the antibacterial activity of leaves and roots of different solvent (petroleum spirit, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol) extracts by employing well diffusion techniques with some human pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains. Maximum diversity of chemical constituents was found in methanol and petroleum spirit extracts in both samples tested. The methanol and petroleum spirit extracts were found active against most of the tested pathogenic bacteria as they showed potential phytochemical constituents. Among the tested species Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae showed greatest sensitivity against methanol and petroleum spirit root extracts which prove that the plant extracts are potential candidates for antibiotic resistance against such bacteria.