IN VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF METHANOL AND AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF LEAVES OF LEPIDIUM SATIVUM, AZADIRACHTA INDICA AND MORINGA OLEIFERA AGAINST SELECTED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

People use medicinal plants as diet, and for treatment of infectious and noninfectious diseases and they use brief procedures like frying and cooking to do so. Medicinal plants; Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, and Lepidium sativum which is believed to have active components that help to treat and manage various diseases were investigated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhi, Streptococcus agalactiae and Shigella boydii. Solvent methanol and aqueous were used for extraction of crudes by means of maceration. Susceptibility testing was determined by using disc diffusion method and Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by broth dilution method. Heat treated plant material activity against test pathogen was aimed to identify resistance capacity of plant material at different interval of time and temperature. All plant extracts under study was active against all tested pathogen after exposure to 45oC for 30 min. Many of the people in the study area were illiterate and they did not have awareness about the ways use of medicinal plants. They use the medicinal plants by cooking and frying for different purposes.  The antibacterial activities of the non-heat-treated extracts of Azadirachta indica were relatively low; the results of this study show that extracts of Azadirachta indica have better residual antibacterial activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration value was ranged from 2.5-10mg/ML and determined by selecting the lowest concentration of plant extract that completely inhibited the growth of the organism in the broth medium as detected by the unaided eye. Keywords: Medicinal plants; Antibacterial activity; Disc diffusion; Heat treatment; Salmonella Typhi