In vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of Tabernaemontana heyneana Wall. leaves

Medicinal plants are the oldest source of pharmacologically active compounds and provided virtually the only source of medicinally useful compounds for centuries. They contain physiologically active principles that over the years have been exploited in traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments. The increased likelihood of acute infections and inflammatory conditions in early humans could have set the stage for the natural selection of the use of medicinal herbs high in antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory components. In the present study, the in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of different solvent leaf extracts of T. heyneana Wall. was investigated. K. pneumoniae (26±1.0 mm) and S. typhii (9.0±2.0 mm) were proved to be inhibited maximally and minimally by the leaves of T. heyneana. Similarly, the maximum and minimum antifungal effect was observed against Rhizopus mucor (25±0.0 mm) and Trichoderma viridins (6.0±1.0 mm), respectively. Among the solvents methanol was proved to be the best one in the extraction of antimicrobial compounds. Ethanol and aqueous systems were proved to be moderate and chloroform as poor solvent in extracting antimicrobial components. Overall results has proved that T. heyneana leaves possess significant antibacterial and poor antifungal activities.