Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of selected medicinal plants

The antibacterial and antifungal activities of water and chloroform extracts of Acorus calamus, Aremisia annua, Chenopodium foloisom, Euphobia heliscopia and Cupressus sempervirens were carried out against six bacterial strains Bacillus subtillis, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococus aureus (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi (Gram-negative), and fungal species Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. Phytochemical analysis was also performed using the literature methods. Among the studied medicinal plant extracts against the tested bacterial strain, E. helioscopia showed very promising results against both the gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial and fungal species followed by C. foloisom, A. annua and C. sempervirens which have low activity against the fungal. Relatively low activity was shown by A. calamus. The significant antibacterial activity of active extracts was compared with the standard antimicrobics, piperacillin (100 µg/disc) and gentamicin (10 µg/disc).