ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN EGYPT TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Ten methanolic, petroleum ether and water plant extracts from botanical species used in traditional medicine in Egypt to cure different diseases have been subject to a screening study to detect the potential antimicrobial activity of their extracts against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts were evaluated using colonies growing on solid medium, establishing the minimal concentration required to inhibit their In Vitro growth (MIC). The results revealed that the extracts from the plants under study using methanol exhibited strong antimicrobial activity than that of petroleum ether or water The methanolic plant extracts revealed that extracts of Ambrosiamaritime,Zizyphus Christi and Salvia officinalis possess strong In Vitro antimicrobial activity against the tested organisms than the other plant extracts used in this study. The separation, purification and characterization of the active agent(s) from Salvia officinalis leaveswas carried out using thin layer chromatography. Thephysicochemical studies of the purified active agent(s) including, spectroscopic characteristics and chemicalreactions was conducted. The biological activities of the purified active agent(s) i.e. MICs values were also estimated.