Investigation For Phytochemical And Antibacterial Properties Of Arial Part Extracts From Portulaca Oleracea Linn. (Purslane) Against Management Of Pathogenic Diseases

Bacteria as etiological agents have been reported to cause many diseases and have increased the rate of mortality globally. Their resistance to conventional medicine has made medicinal plants a credible alternative in the management of diseases caused by bacterial infection. This work was designed to identify secondary metabolites present in arial part extracts of ethno-medicinally utilised Portulaca oleracea L. and evaluate their antibacterial activities. The arial parts of P. oleracea L. were obtained and phytochemical screening was carried out using standard qualitative tests and the antibacterial activity of extracts was evaluated using agar well diffusion method whilst the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was evaluated by micro-dilution method. The screening was assessed against Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae, which are responsible for the transmission of common diseases. Phytochemical screening of P. oleracea L. showed the presence of carbohydrates, steroids, triterpenes, cardiac glycosides, and saponins. All extracts showed a high level of minimum inhibition concentration against the pathogens except K. pneumoniae, M. luteus and P. aeruginosa. Generally, the antibacterial activity of extracts increased with decrease in polarity as compared with ciprofloxacin. The mean (± s.d.) values were significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range tests with p < 0.05. Portulaca oleracea L. has been identified for the first time as a good antibacterial agent, which corroborates the ethno-medicinal uses of the plant.