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Ethnobotanical studies on
Berberis aristata DC. root extracts
M. Shahid 1*, T. Rahim2, A. Shahzad3,
Tajuddin2, A. Latif 2, T. Fatma2,
M. Rashid1, Adil Raza1 and S. Mustafa1
1Department
of Medical Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College
and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh – 202002,
U.P, India.
2Department
of Ilmul Advia, Faculty of Unani Medicine, Aligarh Muslim
University, Aligarh – 202002, U.P, India.
3Section
of Plant Biotechnology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim
University, Aligarh – 202002, U.P, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
shahidsahar@yahoo.co.in.
drmohdshahid123@yahoo.com. Tel: + 91- 571- 2720382,
009411802536. Fax: + 91- 571- 2721776.
Accepted
6 November, 2008 |
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The aqueous and alcoholic extract of fresh Berberis
aristata DC roots, as well as aqueous extract of dried
roots were compared for their antibacterial and antifungal
activities by the disc diffusion method. All three extracts
showed wide antibacterial activity against Gram-positive
bacteria. Among the Gram-negative bacteria tested, the
antibacterial activity was limited to Escherichia coli,
Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae type 1
and Vibrio cholerae; with the best activity against
V. cholerae. MICs of the alcoholic extracts against
Gram-positive bacteria ranged between 3.8 ×10-3
to 6.1 ×10-3 mg/ml and for Gram-negative bacteria
from 6.1 ×10-3 to 7.6 10-3 mg/ml. The
MICs for Candida species ranged between 0.02 to 3.8
×10-3 mg/ml and for Aspergillus species,
it was 3 × 10-3 mg/ml. All three extracts also
had antifungal activity against the fungal species tested,
except Candida krusei. The extracts of B. aristata
also demonstrated anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and
antipyretic activities. Chemical analysis revealed the
presence of alkaloids, amino acids, tannins, terpenes,
resins, phenols and reducing sugars as major compounds. FTIR-spectral
analysis of all the extracts revealed the presence of
berberine, as a major constituent, along with other chemical
constituents.
Key
words:
Antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory,
analgesic, antipyretic, berberine. |
