Steroids are distinct group of secondary metabolites that are largely used in pharmaceutical world and exhibit medicinal as well as physiological activities. Steroidal extracts of leaves and seeds of two medicinal plants Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre and Vitex negundo Linn. were screened for their antimicrobial activity against some bacterial and fungal strains. Test samples were screened for their antimicrobial activity adopting disc diffusion method against Bacillus cerus, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Candida albicans and Trichoderma viride. Extracts were also assayed for cellular toxicity to fresh human erythrocytes. Maximum activity was observed in steroidal fractions of seeds of V. negundo and found to have no cellular toxicity against erythrocytes. The findings demonstrated that steroids of these plants have significant antimicrobial potential and can act as source of alternative medicines against infectious microorganisms.
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