ANTI-DIARRHEAL, ANTIMICROBIAL AND MEMBRANE STABILIZING ACTIVITY OF SARCOCHLAMYS PULCHERRIMA GAUDICH

Abstract

In this study, the methanol extract of leaf of Sarcochlamys pulcherrima Gaudich (SPME) was investigated for anti-diarrheal, antimicrobial and membrane stabilizing activities. Test for anti-diarrheal activity was carried out by castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. During antimicrobial assay test by agar disc diffusion method, the plant extract showed strong activity against Bacillus megaterium (zone of inhibition = 22.0 mm) and Candida albicans (zone of inhibition = 17.0 mm). The MICs of the sample were 250 µg/ml against Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger and Microsporum sp. In membrane stabilizing activity test, the crude methanol extract at 500 µg/ml inhibited the heat-induced haemolysis of RBCs by 47.77% whereas the standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) demonstrated 81.72% inhibition of haemolysis. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed that the crude extract contains reducing sugar, glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins.