Antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of leaf, bark and flower of Bauhinia purpurea Linn. was studied against various standard reference bacterial and fungal strains and clinical isolates collected from various parts of India and abroad. The antimicrobial susceptibility was screened using serial dilution and disc diffusion methods. Ciprofloxacin and Griseofulvin were used as standards. The results showed that the extracts were active against both bacteria (Gram positive and Gram negative) & fungi and amongst the three parts used, the methanolic extract of bark showed comparatively higher antibacterial and antifungal activity than the other two parts studied. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract of the bark proved the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, steroids, phenols and tannins in it. The bark extract was active against most of the Shigella species, V. cholerae, E. coli 35B, E. coli 18/9, E. coli K88, Enterobacter species, S. aureus, B. cereus, Pseudomonas putida MTCC 2252, Ps. aeruginosa AP 585 NLF, Proteus vulgaris AP 679 NLF and all tested fungal strains, except Phaenarochaete chrysporium MTCC 787. The results of the study indicated that the bark of Bauhinia purpurea possessed a broad spectrum of antrimicrobial activity, which might be due to the presence of phenols and tannins in it, as per literature review suggested.
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