Abstract

PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PORTULACA OLERACEA L. AGAINST MULTIPLE DRUG RESISTANT (MDR) PATHOGENS ISOLATED FROM CLINICAL SPECIMEN

Durgesh D. Wasnik* and P.M. Tumane

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out for evaluation of antibacterial activity of Portulaca oleracea L. against multiple drug resistant (MDR) bacteria isolated from clinical specimen. As microorganism are becoming resistant to present day antibiotics, our study focuses on antibacterial activity and future prophylactic potential of the Portulaca oleracea L. The antibacterial activity of Portulaca oleracea L. were evaluated on MDR strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella spp., Enterococcus faecalis, Citrobacter freundii, Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecium and Enterobacter cloacae. Antibacterial activity of five different solvent extracts (Methanol, acetone, ethanol, petroleum ether and n-Hexane) were prepared by using Soxhlet extractor. In-vitro antibacterial activity was performed by agar well diffusion method. The phytochemical anyalsis of leaves extract of Portulaca oleracea L. showed the presence of Saponins, Glycosides, Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Phenolic substance, Steroids, Di & Tri-terpenes and Tannins, Glycosides and Steroids. The maximum antibacterial activity of leaves of Portulaca oleracea L. found in methanolic extract. The highest zone of inhibition of methanolic leaves extract was found against E.coli (26 mm) followed by S. aureus (24 mm), S. pneumoniae (24 mm), K. pneumoniae (22 mm), S. typhi (22 mm) whereas in ethanolic extract maximum zone of inhibition was found against S. pneumoniae (22 mm), E. coli (20 mm), S. aureus (18mm), C. freundii (18 mm) and K. pneumoniae (18 mm). The lowest MIC value was found in methanolic extract was 0.79 mg/ml against S. aureus, E.coli and S. pneumoniae alternatively the lowest MIC value of ethanolic extract was 1.56 mg/ml found against S. aureus, E.coli, S. typhi, E. faecalis, A. baumannii and S. pneumoniae.

Keywords: MDR, Antibacterial Activity, Portulaca oleracea L., Soxhlet extractor.