In vitro study of antibacterial activity of Kanocha seeds (Phyllanthus maderaspatensis) against some gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains

320-326Kanocha is the dried seeds of Phyllanthus maderaspatensis of family Phyllanthaceae. It has been long utilising in Unani system of medicine to cure many ailments including genitourinary infectious diseases. In the current investigation, the aqueous, alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extracts of Kanocha seeds were screened for their antibacterial actions against both gram-positive (Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Corynebacterium xerosis and Bacillus cereus) and gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris) bacterial strains compared with the standard Drug: Ciprofloxacin (SD060) 5 µg/disk for gram-positive bacterial strains and Gentamicin (SD016) 10 µg/disk for gram-negative bacterial strains using Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) with the help of Agar well method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) & minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) with the help of Nutrient Broth method. The data was analysed using Gpad INSTAT programming, one-way ANOVA and post-test Bonferroni. Alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extract showed significant antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract but not up to the mark as compared to standard group indicating that the alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extract has the capability of extracting more phytochemicals than aqueous extract which are responsible for their antibacterial activity. It could be concluded that the present drug possesses antibacterial property

HPLC profiling conclusively distinguished two important Unani drugs, namely, Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum)

Suranjan (colchicum) is one of the prime drugs used for arthritis in Unani System of Medicine. Two varieties of the drug are available in the market under the name of Suranjan; one is Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and the other is Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum). The two varieties are often confused with each other due to morphological resemblance. So there is a need to set a distinction between these two varieties of Suranjan. For this purpose the marker compound (Total Alkaloid Content) were estimated quantitatively and the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was conducted on both the drugs. 3 g of the powdered drug was extracted in petroleum ether and dissolved in 6 mL of 75% ethanol to yield test sample. Methanol at a flow rate of 1 mL/min was used as a standard. The peaks eluted were detected at 254 nm and compared with the authentic standard at 3.2 min of retention time. The colchicine concentration was found to be higher in Suranjan Talkh (0.21%) as compared to the Suranjan Shirin (0.15%). Therefore the present study offers a phytochemical concentration criterion, namely, colchicine content to distinguish between Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum)

HPLC profiling conclusively distinguished two important Unani drugs, namely, Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum)

170-173Suranjan (colchicum) is one of the prime drugs used for arthritis in Unani System of Medicine. Two varieties of the drug are available in the market under the name of Suranjan; one is Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and the other is Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum). The two varieties are often confused with each other due to morphological resemblance. So there is a need to set a distinction between these two varieties of Suranjan. For this purpose the marker compound (Total Alkaloid Content) were estimated quantitatively and the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was conducted on both the drugs. 3 g of the powdered drug was extracted in petroleum ether and dissolved in 6 mL of 75% ethanol to yield test sample. Methanol at a flow rate of 1 mL/min was used as a standard. The peaks eluted were detected at 254 nm and compared with the authentic standard at 3.2 min of retention time. The colchicine concentration was found to be higher in Suranjan Talkh (0.21%) as compared to the Suranjan Shirin (0.15%). Therefore the present study offers a phytochemical concentration criterion, namely, colchicine content to distinguish between Suranjan Shirin (Colchicum autumnale) and Suranjan Talkh (Colchicum luteum)

Antibacterial Screening of Aqueous, Alcoholic and Hydroalcoholic extracts of a Unani drug Abhal (Fruits of Juniperus communis)

Abhal is the dried ripe fruit of Juniperus communis Linn. It has long been using in Unani Medicine to treat many ailments including genitourinary infectious diseases. In the present study, the aqueous, alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extracts of Abhal berries were screened for their antimicrobial activity against both gram positive (Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Corynebacterium xerosis and Bacillus cereus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris) bacterial strains compared with the standard Drug: Ciprofloxacin (SD060) 5µg/disk for gram positive bacterial strains and Gentamicin (SD016) 10µg/disk for gram negative bacterial strains using Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) with the help of Agar well method and  Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) & Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) with the help of Nutrient Broth method. The data was analysed using Gpad INSTAT software, one way ANOVA and post-test named Bonferroni. Alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extract showed significant antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract but not up to the mark as compared to standard group indicating that the alcoholic and hydroalcoholic extract has the capability of extracting more phytochemicals than aqueous extract which are responsible for their antimicrobial activity. It could be concluded that the present drug possesses antimicrobial property.                           Keywords: Antimicrobial, Abhal, Juniperus communis, MIC, MBC