Antibacterial and antifungal activities of Elephantopus scaber Linn.

Abstract

The present study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antimicrobial potentials of petroleum ether, diethyl ether, methanol and water extracts of the root and aerial part of Elephantopus scaber Linn. by determining the zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against various bacterial and fungal stains. Disc diffusion technique was used to determine in-vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. In addition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by broth dilution method. The different solvent extracts showed concentration dependent antibacterial activities against four gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus) and four gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris and Salmonella typhi) bacteria. The MIC values against the tested Gram-positive bacteria ranged from 50 to 500 ?g/ml and against Gram-negative bacteria from 100 to 500 ?g/ml. The antifungal activities were found strong against three different fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus clavatus). The MIC values of the extract against tested fungal stain were found in the range of 200-1000 ?g/ml.