Aim

To evaluate the phytochemical screening, antibacterial and antifungal potential of aqueous and methanolic extracts of Rheum spiciformis, a traditionally used edible medicinal plant.

Materials and Methods

Methanolic and aqueous extracts of Rheum spiciformis were tested for their antimicrobial activities against six bacterial strains namely Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli and four fungal strains Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The susceptibility of microbial strains to the two extracts was determined using agar well diffusion method. Phytochemical screening was carried out by using various standard procedures.

Results

Methanolic extract showed potent antimicrobial activity as compared to aqueous extract at the concentrations of 10, 30, 50, 80 and 100mg/ml. The most susceptible bacterial strains were Staphylococcus aureus with zone of inhibition (25±0.10 mm), Klebsiella pneumonia (23±0.25 mm), Proteus vulgaris (22±0.10 mm) at the concentration of 100mg/ml. Aqueous extracts at the higher concentration were found effective against Proteus vulgaris and Bacillus subtilis with zone of inhibition (17±0.24 mm) and (17±0.10 mm), respectively. Among fungal strains the most susceptible were Aspergillus fumigatus (21±0.10 mm), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (20±0.20 mm) and Penicillium Chrysogenum (17±0.15 mm) at the concentration of 100mg/ml methanol extract. The zone of inhibition for aqueous extract against fungal strains ranged between 14±0.13 mm to 16±0.19 mm at the highest concentration of plant extract. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various secondary metabolites like flavonoids, saponins, volatile oils, phenols, steroids, terpenoids and alkaloids.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that this plant has enough potential to serve as an excellent candidate for obtaining antimicrobial compounds to combat bacterial and fungal infections.