ABSTRACT:
The leaves of the plant Polianthes tuberosa were extracted with petroleum ether and ethanol by soxhlet extraction. The extracts were vaccum dried and subjected to anti inflammatory and anti microbial activites. Anti inflammatory activity by carrageenan induced paw edema method and antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method. The anti inflammatory activity at those levels of 200 mg/kg and compared to standard drug Diclofenac sodium. The activity results were found to be significant (p<0.01) against control. The crude ethanolic extracts (EEPT) inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis ,Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus) and Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli Pseudomonas aureginosa and Salmonella typhi).The Gram positive bacteria tested appeared to be more susceptible to the extracts than the Gram negative bacteria. Both the extracts at the concentration range 100, 250 and 500 µg/ml disc showed inhibitory activity against all tested bacteria. The extracts also showed significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans . All tested microorganisms showed dose dependent susceptibility towards the ethanol extracts. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of the extracts and standard drugs were statistically significant. Based on the current findings it can be concluded that the plant possess potent antimicrobial and anti inflammatory activity.