Abstract

Concern about the rising prevalence of antibiotics resistant strains pathogenic micro-organisms has been expressed in the last three decades. However, intensive studies on extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from medicinal plants have also doubled in the last decade. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Sesame radiatum leaves were studied for in-vitroantimicrobial activity using agar diffusion method. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) phytochemical screening showed the presence of essential oils mainly the phenolic and carboxylic acids groups. The ethanolic extract mildly inhibited the growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Candida albicans, while there was no inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aurogenosa and Escherichia coli. However, aqueous extract exhibited no inhibitory effect on all the five tested micro-organisms.

Key words: Pathogenic micro-organisms, anti-microbial, sesame leaves, GC-MS.