Abstract

Evaluation of anthelmintic and antimicrobial activities of Euphorbia tirucalli L. latex

Author(s): S.K.Asha, C.K.Ramesh, M.Paramesha, A.V.Srikanth

Dichloromethane-methanol (1:1 ratio) extract and petroleumether extract of Euphorbia tirucalli L latex was investigated for anthelmintic activity. The activity of extracts at 10 different concentrations (0.1% to 1.0%) was performed on Indian earthworm Pheretima posthuma using Albendazole as standard reference. The results of the anthelmintic activity revealed that, all the test groups of the study exhibited reduction in time duration for the time of paralysis and death in both the extracts. Further, the petroleum ether extract was proved to be more potent among the two extracts.The antimicrobial activity was carried out against four pathogenic organism viz. Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Tricoderma viridiae and Candida albicans using aqueous extract of the latex. The zone of inhibition was determined against the bacteria at the concentration of 5, 10, 15 & 20% and among the bacteria tested, Bacillus subtilis was resistant for the extract used. Zone of inhibition against fungi was determined at the concentration of 3, 6, 9&12%in the aqueous extract. The phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of secondarymetabolites like steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols and tannins.