Antibacterial Activity of Saponin Isolated from the Leaves of Solanum trilobatum Linn

Abstract

This study was designed to test the antimicrobial potential of ethanol, acetone and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves, fruits and fl owers of Solanum trilobatum and pure saponin fraction extracted from the leaves against selected bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The antibacterial activity was tested by agar disc diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The plant parts tested were extracted with ethanol, acetone and ethyl acetate. Almost all the organic solvent extracts exhibited good inhibitory effect against tested bacterial pathogens. The most susceptible Gram-positive bacterial species was S. aureus, while the most susceptible Gram -negative bacteria was P. aeruginosa. Pure saponin fraction exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity when compared to crude extracts. The antibacterial activity of extracts was found to be comparatively higher than the standard antibiotics used in this study. These results provide evidence for the antagonistic activity of steroidal saponin against tested bacterial pathogens. Further, it could be developed as a bactericidal drug to be used as therapeutic agent against bacterial infections

Keywords

• Medicinal plant, antibacterial activity, bactericidal drug, disc diffusion, agar well diffusion