Antimicrobial Activity of Leaves of Artemisia Vulgaris L

Objective: To screen the antimicrobial activity of different extracts of leaves of Artemisia vulgaris. Materials and Methods: To detect the in vitro antibacterial activity, 10 bacterial strains were selected. These bacteria are both gram +ve and gram -ve. Leaves were extracted with a petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous . In the present work the antibacterial activity was done by cup plate method. The antibacterial activity was expressed as zone diameter in millimeters. Different extracts from leaves of the plant was compared with standards like benzyl penicillin for gram +ve bacteria and streptomycin for gram –ve bacteria using DMF as control. The readymade media for inoculum and culture was obtained from Himedia labs. For antifungal activity four fungal organisms were selected and Griseofulvin was used as standard. Results: Herbal extracts prepared from the leaves of the plant were screened against bacteria and fungal organisms at the concentration range between 50 µg and 300 µg/0.1ml. The results of antimicrobial activity revealed that the extract exhibited activity against both gram +ve, gram –ve and fungal organisms. Conclusion: The present investigation reveals that the aqueous, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts and in some cases petroleum ether extract showed significant antimicrobial activity when compared with standard.