Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Oxalis corniculata against human pathogens

Plants are the major sources of new medicines and thus in-vitro antibacterial activity and preliminary phytochemical screening of the weed plant Oxalis corniculata was performed to find out its therapeutic potential. Aqueous, methanol, choloroform and hexane extracts of sample powdered were prepared. These extracts were tested against standard gram positive bacterial strains Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus cereus and standard gram negative bacterial strains Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli. The agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the prepared extracts. The results obtained showed the broad spectrum activity of the aqueous and methanol extracts of Oxalis corniculata and inhibited the growth of both standard gram positive bacterial strains and standard gram negative bacterial strains. The bacterial growth showed dose- dependent inhibition. The diameter of zone of inhibition of aqueous and methanol extracts were similar to that of zone of inhibition of tetracycline disc used against the pathogenic bacterial strains. Chloroform extract of plant showed little antibacterial activity while in case hexane the activity observed is negligible as compared to other. The Preliminary Phytochemical screening was performed on aqueous and methanol extract and the results revealed the presence of carbohydrates, reducing sugar, proteins, sterols, acidic compounds, alkaloids, tannins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides in both aqueous and methanol extract of the plant. The findings of the present study indicated that the extracts of the leaves of the Oxalis corniculata have several phytochemical constituents who possess the antibacterial activity.