Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

K. Harsha Leena ¹, S. Kambhoja ², Vishesh Upadhyay ²

Affiliations
1 The Oxford College of Pharmacy, 6/9, Hongasandra, Bangalore-68, Karnataka, IN
2 Department of Pharmacognosy, The Oxford College of Pharmacy, Hongasandra, Bangalore- 560068, Karnataka, IN

Abstract

Alstonia scholaris Linn. R. Br. also called as Devil's tree and Dita bark belongs to the family Apocyanaceae. It is a large, ever green tree, found almost throughout India up to an altitude, 600m. The bark was collected and authenticated by Dr. Madhava Chetty, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi. The antibacterial activity of the stem bark of Alstonia scholaris Linn. R. Br. was investigated as there is a necessity for the search of new antibiotics as the infectious diseases continue to be the major concern for health institutions, pharmaceutical companies and Governments all over the world, especially with the current increasing trends of multidrug resistance among emerging - reemerging bacterial pathogens to the available modern drug or antibiotics. The plants are the cheapest and safe alternative source of antimicrobials. The powder of the dried stem bark was extracted with different solvents in increasing order of the polarity by soxhelation. Antibacterial activity was tested against both Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) and Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) organisms using agar disc diffusion method. The methanol and benzene extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Gram negative bacteria and ethanol extract against Gram positive bacteria. Chloroform and acetone extracts exhibited less activity, while petroleum ether and aqueous extracts showed no zone of inhibition. The results were compared with the standard drug, Ampicillin.

Keywords

Alstonia scholaris Linn. R. Br., Antibacterial Studies, Agar Disc Diffusion Method, Ampicillin.

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Vishesh Upadhyay ¹, S. Kambhoja ², K. Harshaleena ², Veeresh ², K. Dhruva ²

Affiliations
1 The Oxford College of Pharmacy, 6/9, Hongasandra, Bangalore – 68, Karnataka, IN
2 Department of Pharmacognosy, The Oxford College of Pharmacy, Hongasandra, Bangalore- 560068, Karnataka, IN

Abstract

Juglans regia Linn. also called as Walnut and Akhrot is a deciduous tree belonging to family Juglandaceae. It is native of Iran, in India it is found throughout the Temperate Himalayas at an altitude of 1000-3000mtrs. In traditional literature, it was found that Juglans regia Linn. stem bark was used as folk medicine as anthelmintic. Thus the extracts of Juglans regia Linn. stem bark were investigated for its anthelmintic activity on adult Indian earthworm, Pheretima posthuma, to substantiate the folkoric claim. The stem bark of Juglans regia Linn. was collected, authenticated, dried, powdered and exhaustively extracted using soxhlet apparatus with different solvents viz. petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, acetone, methanol, ethanol and distilled water in ascending order of polarity. All the extracts were subjected to anthelmintic activity against Indian earthworm, Pheretima posthuma. Benzene, methanol and ethanol extracts exhibited significant anthelmintic activity as comparable to that of standard drug Piperazine citrate.

Keywords

Juglans regia Linn., Anthelmintic Activity, Pheretima Posthuma, Piperazine Citrate.

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