ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ROOT EXTRACT OF THEVETIA PERUVIANA (PERS.) SCHUM

Abstract

The present investigation has been evaluated to find out the antibacterial activity and phytochemical screening of the root extract of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K Schum. The antibacterial efficacy of root extracts of Thevetia peruviana was performed in different solvents like Petroleum ether, Ethanol, Methanol, Acetone and Distilled water by using the Soxhlet apparatus. The antibacterial activity was observed against test organisms like Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexinari. The results show that the inhibitory action of petroleum ether extract was relatively higher than that of other extracts against Salmonella typhi. The Methanol and Acetone extract also shows marked inhibition activity against all test organisms. The Amoxicillin was used as a standard. The phytochemical screening reveals the presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Saponins, Tannins, Carbohydrates and Terpenoids.