title: Ethnomedicinal and phytochemical review of Pakistani medicinal plants used as antibacterial agents against Escherichia coli.
abstract: Medicinal plants have always been part of human culture and have the potential to cure different diseases caused by microorganisms. In Pakistan, biologists are mainly focusing on plants' antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli due to its increasing resistance to antibiotics. In total, extracts from 34 ethnomedicinally valuable Pakistani plants were reported for in-vitro anti-E. coli activities. Mostly methanolic extracts of medicinal plants were used in different studies, which have shown comparatively higher inhibitory activities against E. coli than n-hexane and aqueous extracts. It has been found that increasing concentration (mg/ml) of methanolic extract can significantly increase (p<0.01) anti-E. coli activities. Not all medicinal plants are extracted in solvents others than above, which should also be tested against E. coli. Moreover, medicinal plant species must be fully explored phytochemically, which may lead to the development of new drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 26000, Pakistan. ghurzang@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adnan
authors.forename: Roqaia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bibi
authors.forename: Sakina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mussarat
authors.forename: Akash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tariq
authors.forename: Zabta Khan
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Shinwari
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010154:Pakistan; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts