Anita Rana and Yamini
Murraya koenigii (Curry leaf) is an Indian-native green leafy vegetable. Curry leaves have several health advantages and natural taste. Due to its medicinal value and characteristic aroma it is highly valued plant. In addition to having anti-diabetic characteristics, it also has hepato-protective, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory antioxidant and antibacterial properties. This study set out to look into antibacterial properties of curry leaves. Samples of curry leaves were imported from Mohali, Punjab. To obtain curry leaf powder, the leaves were air dried at room temperature then pulverized. With the help of disc diffusion method, this powder was utilized to prepare the ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts for testing the antibacterial activities on both Gram (+ve) and Gram (-ve) bacteria. Using discs of antibiotics, the inhibition zones surrounding the disc were assessed and compared. When tested against S. aureus, E. coli and B. subtilis the curry leaf extract showed a distinct zone of inhibition, demonstrating a broad spectrum of very high antibacterial activity. Results obtained showed that S. aureus found to be most effective while E. coli was least effective. Among various extracts methanolic extract of curry leaf was found to be most effective while aqueous was observed to be least effective.
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