EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF OCIMUM SANCTUM

Various diseases are caused by different pathogenic microorganisms. Antibiotics are being used for treatmen of these infectious diseases, yet unpredictable utilization of it leads towards antibacterial resistance. It is required to discover better approaches to battle against antibacterial and antifungal resistance. Therefore, the study aimed to detect antibacterial sensitivity of extracts of Ocimum sanctum, and against E.Coli, Streptococcus aureus, S.cerevisiae and C.albicans. The percentage yield and physical status of the methanolic leaf extract (MEOS) and chloroform (CSC) and aqueous fractions Ocimum sanctum are showed. The antibacterial activity of a compound is expressed in terms of its ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria in nutrient broth or agar media. The bacterial growth inhibition can be measured by two methods Cup plate method and Serial dilution method. Nutrient broth has been used for the preparation of inoculum of the bacteria and nutrient agar is used for the evaluation of antibacterial activity. All the Extracted compounds (BMC & BMQ), were found to be effective antibacterial agents. Antifungal activity evaluation against C. albicans showed that compound BMH also did not possess significant antifungal properties. The study confirms that Ocimum sanctum and all possess antimicrobial activity with different potency against variety of selected microorganisms. The results demonstrated that the plant extract exhibited considerable antifungal activity against the tested fungal strains, with the inhibitory effect increasing with concentration. The maximum zone of inhibition of 26.1 mm was observed against Candida albicans at a concentration of 3 mg/disc, which was comparable to the standard drug Amphotericin B (27 mm). The lowest antifungal activity was observed against Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were evaluated to determine the antifungal potency of the extract. The MIC values varied among the tested fungal species, indicating differences in their susceptibility to the extract. The findings suggest that the plant extract possesses promising in-vitro antifungal activity and may serve as a potential source of natural antifungal agents. Further studies are required to identify the active phytochemical constituents and establish their safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action. Therefore, spices have a great potential to be developed as new and safe antimicrobial agents. This review summarizes scientific studies on the antibacterial and antifungal activities of several spices and their derivatives. Keywords: Ocimum sanctum, antimicrobial activity and Antifungal activity.