Costus speciosus (Koen ex.Retz.) is an ornamental plant and has also been used in traditional medicinal systems, mainly in India and Sri Lanka. This research article reveals the antibacterial activity of the leaves of Costus speciosus (Koen.) and its efficacy in different solvents, acetone, ethanol and sterilized distilled water (aqueous), against selected human pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The leaves were tested for antibacterial activity, using agar well diffusion method at the test concentrations of 25, 50 and 75mg/100µl of these solvents, separately. The maximum inhibitory action was observed in ethanol extracts against both bacterial strains at 75mg/100µl concentration. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) for Acetone and ethanol extracts of Costus speciosus were 12.5mg/100µl and 6.25mg/100µl respectively against E. coli whereas it was 12.5mg/100µl against S. aureus for both extracts. The aqueous, ethanol and acetone extracts showed concentration-dependent antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria with the zone of inhibition. Among the solvents used, the acetone showed higher inhibitory activity yet clear and significant inhibition zones were also observed from the aqueous and ethanol leaf extracts. Thereby, the results revealed the medicinal potential of the leaf extracts of Costus speciosus (Koen.) against various infectious diseases to develop a drug with appropriate solvents.
Plants are considered not only as dietary supplement to living organisms but also traditionally used for treating many health problems and the medicinal value of many plants still remains unexplored investigations of plants are carried out to find novel drugs or templates for the development of new therapeutic agents. Plants produce a wide variety of phytochemical constituents, which are secondary metabolites and are used either directly or indirectly in the pharmaceutical industry. Majority of the population, especially those living in rural areas depends largely on medicinal plants for treatment of diseases. The resistance of pathogenic bacterial strains to antibiotics is the major burning issue around the world. Pharmacological industries have produced various new antibiotics ever since, but microorganisms have slowly developed resistance to these drugs because bacteria have the genetic capability to transmit and acquire resistance to these drug. Plants and plant products are a better alternative compared to antibiotics and other synthetic drugs which display negative side effects such as sensitization reactions, and disruption of the metabolic processes in the body via interaction with the body system. Hence antimicrobial agents from plants are a more reliable and effective source to fight these microorganisms without the development of resistance.
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