The development of new antimicrobial agents against multidrug resistant pathogens for the treatment of skin infections is of increasing interest. Therefore, the methanol, ethyl acetate chloroform and water extracts from different parts of Sonchus eruca were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against the most frequent skin pathogens. It was found that most plant extracts studied had antibacterial and antifungal activities. The antibacterial activities with the highest zone of inhibition 19 and 18 mm were significantly produced by the leaves extracts of Sonchus eruca against Klebsella. All other extracts of root, stem and leaves also showed significant results. Phytochemical anaylsis of Sonchus eruca confirmed the presence of Flavonoids, Saponins, Antraquinone, Terpenoids, Tannins, Reducing Sugar and Cardiac glycosides. Antimicrobial activities may be due to the flavoniods.
Antimicrobial activity, phytochemicals, Sonchus eruca
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