Novel leads from herbal drugs for infectious skin diseases

Infectious diseases, particularly skin and mucosal infections, are common in most of the tribal inhabitants due to lack of sanitation, potable water and awareness of hygienic food habits. Skin diseases like wounds, furuncles, sepsis, atopic dermatitis, cellulitis, gas gangrene, acne, candidiasis can be caused by a variety of the microbes. Plants produce a diverse range of bioactive molecules, making them rich sources of different types of medicine. Many hundreds of medicinal plant species worldwide are used in the traditional medicine as treatment for skin diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. In the present study different solvent extracts of Asteracantha longifolia Nees., Daemia extensa R. Br., Euphorbia hirta L., Euphorbia tirucalli L., Euphorbia nerrifolia L., Haliotropium indicum L., Morus alba L., Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth., Trichedesma indicum R. Br., Curcuma amada L. and Curcuma longa L. were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against some skin diseases causing bacteria and fungi using agar well diffusion method. The plant extracts showed potent activity against microorganisms and confirmed the folkloric claims as an antimicrobial agent for treating skin infections.