Screening of Preliminary Phytochemical Analysis and In-Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Stem Bark Extracts of Vitex negundo L.

Antimicrobial activity of stem bark of Vitex negundo was studied against nine pathogenic bacteria and three fungal strains by agar well diffusion method. Antimicrobial activity was recorded for hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts. Methanol extract exhibited higher degree of antimicrobial activity compared to chloroform and hexane extracts. Escherichia coli was turned out be the most susceptible bacterium to the crude stem bark using the standard Ciprofloxacin (5 mu g/disc) and nystatin. Minimum inhibition concentration values of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts were determined by the agar dilution method ranged between 31.2 and 1000 mu g. The study suggested that the stem bark extracts possess bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria and fungi revealing a significant scope to develop a novel broad spectrum of antimicrobial drug formulation from V. negundo.