Antimicrobial Activity of Endangered Medicinal Plant Gloriosa Superba L.

Indian subcontinent is praised with most varied and diverse soil and climate conditions suitable for the growth of various plant species and endowed with rich wealth of medicinal plants. Gloriosa superba L. has been a source of medicine right from ancient time. Medicinal plants have bioactive compounds which are used for curing of various human diseases and also play an important role in healing. Screening of antimicrobial activity of Gloriosa superba L. in the leaves was studied. The leaves of the selected medicinal plants were washed, air dried and then powdered. The main objective was to check the presence or absence of the antimicrobial activity of leaves of the selected medicinal plant. In the present study, preliminary antimicrobial activity of Gloriosa superba L. (leaves, stem and flower) exhibited high degrees of antibacterial activity against tested pathogenic microorganisms Bacillus sps. , Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, when studied by the disc diffusion method. The acetone extract of Gloriosa superba L. was found to be effective against all tested microorganisms with the inhibition zone ranging with an average of 1.0 � 2.9 mm. When the result was compared with standard antibiotic, streptomycin, a moderate antibacterial efficiency was observed in the ethanol and acetone extracts of Gloriosa superba L.