Abstract

The antibacterial potential of an endangered medicinal plant Tylophora indica was analyzed by agar well diffusion method and its activity was compared with that of its in vitro raised plant and callus. The extracts of parent plant of T. indica showed good antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria only; whereas, the extracts from in vitro raised plant and leaf callus showed good activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the alcoholic leaf extract of in vitro raised plant was determined by broth microdilution method. MIC against gram positive bacteria ranged from 3.05 to 12.0 µg/ml and MIC against gram negative bacteria ranged from 1.53 to 24.0 µg/ml. The present study leads to conclusion that extracts of T. indica contains good antibacterial activity which can be used in the treatment of various infections showing resistance to treatment by currently used antimicrobial agents. As the in vitro raised plant and callus gave better results as compared to parent plant, in vitro cultivation of explants may be used to obtain novel antibacterial compounds. This is the first report on antibacterial activity ofT. indica through in vitro raised plant and its callus.

Key words: Tylophora indica, in vitro raised plant and callus, antibacterial activity.