Abstract:
Tabernaemontana divaricata is traditionally used for various ailments. The young stems are used as dental caries, latex of leaves used as anti-inflammatory and infusion of roots are used as antipyretic. In the present study leaves were collected from Husnabad village of Karimnagar district which were dried and made into the fine powder then subjected to maceration and soxhlation by chloroform and methanol as solvents. The preliminary phytochemical screening was performed for those extracts and results showed the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, phenols, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, proteins and amino acids. These extracts were screened for their antibacterial activity against 4 pathogens bacteria by well diffusion method. The pattern of inhibition varied with the solvent used for extraction and microorganism tested. A comparative study had been done between the maceration and soxhlation extracts of leaves by using chloroform and methanol as solvents. Among these extracts, methanol soxhlation extract showed significant antibacterial activity against most tested bacteria. The most susceptible microorganism was Proteus vulgaris (ZOI-22mm) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (ZOI-17).

Keywords: Tabernaemontana divaricata, Antibacterial, Maceration, Soxhlation, Staphylococcus aureus, Lacto bacillus, Proteus vulgaris, Enterobacter aerogenes, ZOI.