Medicinal Plants: An Alternative Source for Antimicrobials Against Emerging Pathogens

Abstract

The Tagetes erecta an extensively used medicinal plant is a small shrub, which grows up to 1–2 mm. The present study was aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of this common locally available plant. Antimicrobial activity of three confined densities of crude extracts (cold aqueous, hot aqueous and methanol extracts) of medicinal plant Tagetes erecta leaves and flowers was evaluated by disk diffusion method against seven different pathogenic species of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The result indicates that the leaf and flower of this plant part showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. Nevertheless the extracts showed promising effect, yet the methanol extract showed least inhibition against the test microorganisms in comparison to hot aqueous extract and cold aqueous extract. Current results will provide a background for further endeavor in these fields.

Keywords: Tagetes erecta, flower, leaf extracts, antibacterial activity