title: Methanolic Extract of Plumbago Zeylanica - A Remarkable Antibacterial Agent Against Many Human and Agricultural Pathogens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current investigation was carried out to determine the cytotoxic and the antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts ofPlumbago zeylanica.
  
  
  METHODS
  The stems, leaves, and whole plants were air dried and extracted with methanol by using a Soxhlet extractor for 72 hours at 55 - 60°C. The antimicrobial activities were determined from the zones of inhibition, which were measured by using the agar well diffusion method, and the cytotoxicity assays were performed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The methanolic extracts of the stem and the leaves ofPlumbago zeylanicawere tested against six bacterial species and nine fungal species, and both extracts showed antimicrobial activity in a dose-dependent manner. The leaf extract ofPlumbago zeylanicashowed maximum antimicrobial activity against bothStaphylococcus aureus sub sp aureusandFusarium oxysporum. The stem extract was found to be more antimicrobial against thePseudomonas aeruginosaand thePenicillium expansumspecies. MTT assays were used to test the cytotoxicity of the whole plant extract in the HCT-116 and the K-562 cell lines, and that extract was shown to have weak cytotoxicity in both cell lines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, the methanolic stem extracts ofPlumbago zeylanicawere found to possess remarkable antibacterial activities against many human and agricultural pathogens. The extracts were also found to possess significant antifungal activities, but the antifungal activities were less than the antibacterial activities. Finally, the extracts were found to have weak cytotoxicities in the HCT-116 and the K-562 cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Mukesh Kumar
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5753-2700
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Hemant
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sawarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Anshita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Bina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gidwani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Pharmacy, Kumhari, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Hemant
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dhongade
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Kohka-Kurud Road, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Dulal Krishna
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tripathi
keywords:  MTT assay;  Plumbago zeylanica;  cytotoxic activity; anti microbial activity