ISSN 2169-303X
International Journal of Medicinal Plants Research ISSN 2169-303X Vol. 9 (6), pp. 001-009, June, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Comparative pharmacognostical and antimicrobial studies of acacia species (Mimosaceae)
Mohan Lal Saini1,2, Ritu Saini2, Shikha Roy1 and Ashwani Kumar1
1Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004, India.
2Plant Morphology and Anatomy Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004, India
Accepted 21 April, 2020
Abstract
Various Acacia species have been reported to be effective against a variety of disease including malaria, leprosy and most concerning cancer. The fresh plant parts of different Acacia species are considered as astringent, spasmolytic, demulcent, anthelmintic and abortifacient in Indian traditional medicine system. Currently, numerous herbal products derived from Acacia species are available in market. In present exploration, a total of five species of genus Acacia including: Acacia nilotica ssp. indica (Benth.) A. F. Hill, Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) Hayne, Acacia senegal (L.) Willd., Acacia catechu (L.)Willd, Acacia jacquemontii Benth were undertaken for preliminary ethnomedicinal and antimicrobial screening. Subsequently, the two most active species: A. catechu and A. nilotica were further considered for detail pharmacognostical studies. During antimicrobial screening experiments, A. catechu and A. nilotica exhibited highest activity against three bacterial (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi) and two fungal strain (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger). The pharmacognostical study revealed that both species (A. catechu and A. nilotica) can be distinguished on the basis of their macroscopic, microscopic and phytochemical characters. Different plant parts (bark and pods) of both species were found to contain various secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavanoids, tannins and sponins.
Key words: Antimicrobial activity, pharmacognosy, abortifacient, antiplatelet aggregatory, saponins.