Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of aqueous extracts of Acalypha indica

Abstract

Acalypha indica is a small herb which is distributed in most of Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan. It is commonly known as Indian Copper leaf and it is used in traditional medicines for bacterial and fungal diseases. Aqueous extraction of plant materials such as leaf and whole plant were investigated for anti-microbial property without changing concentration. Results of this study revealed that all extracts had good inhibitory activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The clear zone for Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella were found with the diameter of 1.85cm and 1.9cm respectively, though the inhibitory diameters of these bacteria were smaller than the streptomycin control. Antifungal activity of whole plant and leaf extract of Acalypha indica against all fungal species showed the inhibitory growth less than 20%. The findings exhibit that aqueous extracts have broad spectrum activity and there is a possibility in treatment of infectious diseases.