Nanoparticle assisted antimicrobial activity and phytochemical studies of few Himalayan medicinal plants

Abstract

The present study helps to identify and standardize the antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants. Therefore, 11 medicinal plants were selected for the antimicrobial activity. Out of which 2 plants i.e., P. graminifolium and P. emodi were active against bacterial and fungal strains. P. graminifolium shows antifungal activity against C. albicans and C. glabrata strains and showed significant synergistic activity with various class of antifungal agents. Whereas P. emodi shows antifungal activity against C. glabrata and antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. pyogenes and V. cholerae. GC-MS and FTIR analysis revealed the presence of bioactive compounds. The qualitative investigations by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy reveals the damage of cell membranes of microbial strains after the treatment with plant extracts. The combined effect of P. emodi extract with biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) showed enhancement in the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and S. pyogenes. newline