Exploring The Antimicrobial Potential of Medicinal Plant Extracts and their Synergistic Interactions

The present study evaluated the extractive yields and antimicrobial activities of Pinanga, Andrographis, and Microchirita using two extraction methods, decoction and percolation. Extractive yield analysis revealed that percolation generally produced higher values compared to decoction, with Microchirita showing the highest yield (49.7%) under percolation. Antimicrobial screening was performed against selected bacterial and fungal strains using disc diffusion and combination assays with standard antibiotics. Among the tested plants, Andrographis exhibited the strongest antibacterial and antifungal activity. Synergistic evaluations demonstrated that combining extracts with Streptomycin significantly enhanced antibacterial efficacy, while combinations with Fluconazole improved antifungal effects. These results suggest that percolation is a more efficient extraction method, and Andrographis in particular holds promising potential as a source of antimicrobial agents. The observed synergistic effects further highlight the relevance of integrating plant extracts with conventional antibiotics to address microbial resistance. Further phytochemical investigations are recommended to identify the bioactive constituents responsible for the observed activities.