Background: The ethnobotanical importance of
Prosopis juliflora
is well-known in the folkloric system of medicine for the treatment of various
ailments. Although, the study related to the antibacterial potential of this plant, from Central India is scanty.
Material and Methods: The
in vitro antibacterial activity of
Prosopis juliflora leaves collected from the local area was evaluated against ten
bacterial type cultures by agar well diffusion assay. The crude extracts prepared by two methods separately with three different solvents were
examined for the preliminary antibacterial activity and phytochemical screening, the results of which were used for the choice of solvent and mass
extraction of crude extract. Solvent fractionation of crude extract was done employing two sets of solvents namely Set-PCE and Set-HDB which
resulted in total, six organic and two aqueous fractions, which were finally subjected to antibacterial activities.
Results: Varying degrees of growth inhibition was shown by all the fractions against tested microorganisms. The highest antibacterial activity
was observed in aqueous fractions as compared to solvent fractions.
Conclusion: Isolation and characterization of the bioactive components can be further done by systematic screening of the most active solvent
fraction which could lead to the possible source of new antibacterial agents.
