Screening of Biological Activities of Some Leguminosae (Fabaceae) Family Plants

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this paper was to evaluate some pharmacological activities of 10 indigenous Leguminosae family plants.
Methods: Agar well diffusion assay was used for the estimation of antibacterial activity of the methanolic plant extracts and Broth microdilution assay was used for the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Antibacterial activity was investigated against eight bacteria (both gram positive and negative) that include Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Shigella dysenteriae, Helicobacter pylori and Proteus vulgaris. Antioxidant activity was assessed through DPPH inhibition assay. Results indicated that various plants extracts have antibacterial and antioxidant potential.
Result: Acacia nilotica showed highest antioxidant potential among tested plant extracts. Cassia fistula, Tephrosia hamiltonii, Glycyrrhiza glabra and Cassia senna showed highest antibacterial activity against different strains of bacteria.
Conclusion: It is concluded that tested selected plant extracts have antibacterial and antioxidant activities so can be used in treatment of various ailments. The present study can provide the basis for derivation of synthetic medicines from these tested plants. However, further studies are required to isolate the active constituents from these extracts.