Antibacterial Activity of Ethyl Acetate Extracts from Stem and Root of Crotalaria ramosissima Roxb. (Family-Fabaceae)

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial potential in the ethyl acetate of stem and root Crotalaria ramosissima Roxb. against the selected pathogenic microorganisms. Plant extracts were subjected to antibacterial screening against six clinically important bacterial strains comprising three Gram-positive bacteria and three Gram-negative bacteria. The Gram-positive bacteria included Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Enterococcus faecium, while the Gram-negative bacteria included Enterobacter freundii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using the well diffusion method and the zone of inhibition was measured to determine the effectiveness of the extracts. The results demonstrated that the extracts of C. ramosissima exhibited considerable antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Among the tested organisms, Gram-positive bacteria showed comparatively higher sensitivity to the plant extracts than Gram-negative bacteria, which may be attributed to differences in cell wall composition. The presence of bioactive phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids could be responsible for the observed antibacterial effects. The study highlights the medicinal significance of C. ramosissima as a potential natural source of antimicrobial agents. These findings suggest that the plant possesses promising antibacterial properties and may be further explored for the development of novel phytotherapeutic drugs to combat microbial infections and antibiotic resistance.