In Vitro Studies and Antibacterial Activity of Alpinia Purpurata

Medicinal plants are the most exclusive source of life saving drugs for the majority world’s population. The rhizomes of the Zingiberaceae family are a vegetable widely used in many Asian countries, and their medicinal functions have been broadly discussed and accepted in many traditional recipes. Alpinia purpurata commonly called as red ginger is native to tropical and subtropical Asia. Though it is mostly cultivated as an ornamental plant, due to the beauty of its inflorescence its potential in therapeutics also has been studied. In vitro studies of the plant Alpinia purpurata (leaves, roots and rhizomes) for its antibacterial activity, were conducted using the solvent extracts (hexane, ethanol, chloroform and 2,4D-dichloro methane) against bacteria using disc diffusion assay. E. coli and Lactobacillus were used for measuring the antibacterial activity of the plant. Ethanol extracts of plant (leaves, roots) showed highest inhibition zone of 3.5 cm was recorded against E. coli and Lactobacillus. Hexane, chloroform, 2,4 D-dichloro methane extracts did not show any significant results. The antimicrobial activity of extracts of A. purpurata is well studied and confirmed.