ANTIMICROBIAL EFFICACY OF THE ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANT SPECIES, CANARIUM STRICTUM ROXB

Objective: This study is aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of alcoholic leaf extracts of the ethno medicinal plant species, Canarium strictum belongs to the family, Burseraceae used by Irula tribal community of Walayar valley, the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India.Methods: Leaf samples were extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and methanol. Antimicrobial activity against 10 bacterial strains and 10 fungal species was studied by using disc diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration was determined using macro-broth dilution method.Results: All extracts showed a varied degree of antimicrobial activity against the tested pathogens. However, the methanol extract formed higher inhibition zone (16.41 mm) against the bacterium, Moraxetta sp. Methanol and the ethyl acetate extracts also showed a high degree of inhibition of the fungi, Mucor rouxii and Rhizopus sp. (20.67 and 15.72 mm respectively).Conclusion: The methanolic extract was found to be more effective in inhibiting the colonial growth of the tested pathogens. Therefore, the results confirm the traditional knowledge of Irula tribals on the use of this species for curing the infectious diseases.Keywords: Canarium strictum, Ethnomedicinal plant, Antimicrobial activit

Germplasm conservation of Phyllanthus virgatus G. Forst. by encapsulation of In vitro derived leaf segments

The present study describes an efficient plant regeneration system for in vitro propagation of Phyllanthus virgatus through leaf explant. The leaf explants were cultured on Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with BAP (1.5 mg L-1) and NAA (0.9 mg L-1 for efficient callus induction (82.26%). The maximum percentage of shoots (77.85%) was developed from BAP (2.0 mg L-1) and GA3 (0.5 mg L-1). The efficient rooting response (76.28%) was noted on a nutrient medium containing NAA (1.5 mg L-1) and IBA (0.2 mg L-1). Regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized and hardened off inside the culture room and then transferred to green house with a 72% survival rate