NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM PUNJAB AND THEIR ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY

Abstract

The medicinal plants can prevent and enhance the potential health of human beings with the nutritional constituents such as fats, proteins and other phytochemical compounds. Since active medicinal constituents are present in plants, 78 percent of drugs have a plant origin. The study aimed to find out the proximate analysis and to ascertain the antibacterial and antifungal properties of five native medicinal plants in Punjab, Pakistan: Convolvulus arvensis, Sesamum indicum, Capparis spinosa, Annona squamosa, and Anethum graveolens. The sample plant levels were analyzed in terms of moisture content, ash, protein, fat and carbohydrate. Agar Diffusion was used to ascertain the anti-microbial activities on bacterial and fungal strains and reveal the presence of 5% Protein and 15% fat content in higher in Convolvulus arvensis and 83.82% carbohydrate content in Sesamum indicum. Moreover, the results of the methanolic extracted plants were constructive against bacterial and fungal strains. Capparis spinosa contained 19.73% moisture content amongst all the selected plant species and had high potential against E. coli at 10mg/ml minimum inhibitive concentration. Convolvulus arvensis and Annona squamosa gave an MIC of 1mg/ml which inhibited Salmonella Typhi. In the antifungal assay, the plant extracts recorded significant results on the fungal strains except Trichoderma. Convolvulus arvensis with MIC of less than 10mg/ml and Anethum graveolens with MIC of less than 10mg/ml were used in antifungal research with positive outcome against acremonium and pythium respectively. The paper ends up with the palm of medicinal plants of Punjab in Pakistan that can be used against microbial infections. Based on the findings, the medicinal plants that were selected provided knowledge of value to human health when used in therapeutic treatment and can be used as a substitute to synthetic medicines in the future.