Antimicrobial activity of herbs against Yersinia enterocolitica and mixed microflora

Résumé

The present study aimed at developing herbal medicine against food borne
pathogens, therefore the antimicrobial activity of four herbs viz. Arjuna (bark),
Ashwagandha (roots), Puthkanda (leaves) and Shalampanja (roots) was checked.
Aqueous, ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts of each herb were extracted and
their antimicrobial activity against mixed microflora and against Yersinia
enterocolitica was determined. Tetracycline and gentamicin were used as reference
antibiotics. Arjuna extracts showed the highest antimicrobial potential against
mixed population and Yersinia enterocolitica in comparison to Ashwagandha,
Puthkanda and Shalampanja extracts. The antimicrobial activity of Arjuna aqueous
extract was lower compared to gentamicin, but comparable to tetracycline. The
minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of
aqueous extract of Arjuna showed the lowest values indicating that it is more
effective in lower concentration of use. The antimicrobial activity of herbs showed
the following trend Arjuna > Puthkanda > Shalampanja > Ashwagandha