Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Properties of Seeds Extracts of Balanite aegyptiaca

Abstract

Despite the wide availability of clinically useful antibiotics and semi-synthetic analogues, humans have frequently used plants to treat common infectious diseases. Studies on them could lead to finding of novel drugs for effective treatment of various diseases caused by commensals and pathogens. We have chosen one of the most commonly used seeds of Balanite aegyptiaca for the present study which was screened for phytochemical and antibacterial properties. The antibacterial activity test was evaluated qualitatively through agar disc diffusion method using the following microbial isolate: Pseudomonas aureginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli. The study revealed that Balanite aegyptiaca seed extracts contained rich availability of tannins, flavonoids, saponins, glycoside, phenolics, anthraquinones as the secondary metabolites. Further the methanol and hexane extracts of plant seeds were found to have possess antibacterial property for wide range of gram positive
and gram negative bacterial strains.