Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Activity of Selected Bryophytes in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

newlinequotABSTRACT newlineThe use of antibiotics is one of the most common means of treatment of newlinediseases. However, prolonged use of drugs slowly develops resistance in microbial newlinepathogens. Therefore, alternate methods of disease control needs to be searched upon. newlineDifferent plant groups have been reported to possess antimicrobial efficacy against newlinenumber of plant and human pathogens. Very little attention is given to lower plants newlinelike bryophytes though they are known to possess unique chemoprofile. Therefore, newlinehere an effort was made to determine the biological activity of acetone and newlineethanol/methanol (80%) extracts of 14 bryophyte species viz. Conocephalum conicum newline(L)Underw, Conocephalum conicum (L)Underw, Marchantia palmate Reinw., Nees and newlineBlume, Marchantia palmata Reinw., Nees and Blume, Reboulia hemispherica L.Raddi, newlinePellia epiphylla (L) Card, Asterella angusta (Stephani.) Pande, Sematophyllum newlinesubhumile (mull. Hal.) M. Fleisch, Anaectangium thomsonii Mitt., Rhynchostegium newlinevagans AJaegr. (Syn. Oxyrrhynchium vagans (A. Jaeger) Ignatov and Huttunen), newlineAtrichum undulatum (Hedw.) P. Beauv., Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., Thuidium newlinecymbifolium (Dozy and Molk.) Dozy and Molk. and Campylopus gracilis (Mitt.)A. Jaeger newlineagainst plethora of bacteria and fungi. Extraction of the plant was done by both cold newlineextraction and soxhlet extraction. The yield was better when both the extraction newlineprocedures were used simultaneously. Both acetone and alcoholic extracts of tested newlineplants showed dose-dependent antibacterial activity against all the six bacteria viz., newlineEscherchia coli, Bacillus cereus, Erwinia chrysanthemi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, newlineSalmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus.quot newline