Author(s):

C. P. Ben, V. Sivanadanam and G. Gnanasekaran

Abstract: Jatropha maheshwarii Subr. & Nayar and Jatropha villosa Wight,belonging to the spurge family, are highly endemic species showing a narrow range of distribution. Traditionally the plants bear more folkloric usages as utilized by the rural communities. However, these species remains unexplored and underutilized. With this view in mind, the present investigation aims to evaluate the phytochemical constituents as well as comparative antimicrobial properties of both the species against various human bacterial and fungal pathogens. Antimicrobial efficacy was performed by disc diffusion method against the bacterial pathogens viz., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterococcus faecalis incubated for 24 hrs at 37 °C as well as the isolates of fungal pathogens Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida cruzi and Aspergillus niger. All the extracts of the plant viz., acetone, distilled water, methanol, chloroform, petroleum ether and benzene, studied in the present investigation exhibited varying degree of inhibitory effect against the selected human pathogens. It is authenticated that the plants revealed the presence of valuable phytochemicals and exhibited good antimicrobial activity, which supports its folkloric use and thus provides clue for its successful utility as a medicine.

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