Antimicrobial activity euphorbia hirta plant extracts against escherichia coli and candida albicans / Noramiera Shahrir

Euphorbia hirta is a very popular herb amongst practitioners of traditional herb
medicine, widely used as a decoction or infusion to treat various ailments including
intestinal parasites, diarrhoea, vomiting, asthma, bronchitis, coughs and venereal
diseases. The purpose of this study to find the chemical compounds in E. hirta plant
and also to perform antimicrobial study in order to determine the efficiency of E.
hirta plants. The powdered plant material was extracted using two solvents methanol
and hexane through sequential extraction. Agar well diffusion method was used to
determine the antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.
The methanol produced the higher yield of. extract than hexane. Phytochemical
screening of the crude extracts revealed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid,
terpenoids, tannins, phenolics and glycosides. Presense of bioactive constituents have
been linked to the antimicrobial activity of the plant material. Methanol E. hirta
extract is more effective in antibacterial than hexane extract. Different concentrations
of crude extract show significant difference (P ≤ 0.05). E. hirta plants extract do not
show any antifungal activity. The results presented in this study confirmed that
extracts of E. hirta hold antibacterial potential effects against pathogenic
microorganisms and therefore can be used as a safe, reliable and economical natural
antibacterial source for therapeutic treatment.