S. TAMILSELVI, PADMA VENKATASUBRAMANIAN, K.P. KANNAN AND N.S. VASANTHI
Abstract
Berberis aristata DC, correlated to Daruharidra, is one of the herbal species extensively used in ayurveda for its diverse therapeutic applications. Among its various ingredients, alkaloid berberine is the most active with antimicrobial activities. The present study was carried out to identify an effective strategy for maximum extraction of berberine from B. aristata stem samples and to analyse their antimicrobial activity against eye infecting microbes. Different solvents viz., methanol, ethanol, chloroform and water, and various extraction procedures such as hot extraction, cold extraction and centrifugation process were used for analyzing berberine content spectrometrically at 350 nm. Highest yield of 17.32% of berberine was recorded in sample extracted with methanol using soxhlet apparatus for 72 hrs. The antimicrobial activities of the various extracts were tested against the eye infecting pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (CoNS) and Streptococcus sp. using agar well diffusion method. Though all the solvents showed antimicrobial activity against the tested organisms, highest inhibition was observed in the methanolic extaction against the tested organisms.