ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANT IN TRADITIONAL TREATMENT OF WOUND INFECTION IN SOUTHEAST INDIA
Objective: The wound healing potential of fruit peel of Pithecellobium dulce Benth, a plant traditionally used for wound treatment against wound- infecting bacteria, was assessed using disc diffusion and microtitre plate methods. Methods: P. dulce fruit peel was extracted using ethyl acetate, methanol and water and tested for their antimicrobial activities against bacterial isolates from wound infection using disc diffusion and microtitre plate methods. Results: All the three extracts had antimicrobial activities, among which methanol extract had higher activities against all the tested organisms compared to the ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts. The most susceptible organism to all the extracts was K. pneumonia and S. aureus while the most resistant were P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris. Conclusion: The potential antibacterial activity of P. dulce plant against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria justifies the use of the plant as the wound healing agent. The isolation of active principle of this plant may serve as source and lead for the synthesis of drugs in pharmaceutical industries.