Antibacterial activity of some selected medicinal plants of Pakistan

Determining the pharmacognostic specifications of medicinal plants used in a variety of drugs is critical. Plants play an important role in our lives because they provide us with food, shelter, clothing, fuel, ornamentals, flavoring, and medicine. The theme of this chapter is to present information about different medicinal plants having antibacterial activity from Pakistan. Key findings of this chapter include information on antibacterial activity of a total of 108 plants from Pakistan. The most commonly used plants as antibacterial activity in the study region were Aesculus indica (Wall. ex Cambess.) Hook., Ajuga integrifolia Buch.-Ham., Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., Arisaema flavum (Forssk.) Schott, Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand., Carissa spinarum L., Coriandrum sativum L., Cucumis sativus L., Debregeasia saeneb (Forssk.) Hepper & J.R.I. Wood, Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq., Lawsonia inermis L., Lens culinaris Medik., Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne., Medicago falcata L., Phyllanthus emblica L., Pistacia chinensis subsp. integerrima (J. L. Stewart ex Brandis) Rech. f., Populus ciliata Wall. ex. Royle, Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr, and Toona ciliata M. Roem. Different compounds such as ascorbic acid, curcumin, gallic acid, myricetin, piperine, quercetin, and vasicine being reportedly isolated from these plants possess antibacterial potential. Pakistan has a variety of ethnomedicinal plants used to treat different bacterial diseases; however, studies on in vivo activity, toxicology, and mechanism of action are very limited. Hence, a detailed investigation on these aspects needs to be carried out for the development of novel antibacterial drugs from the studied plant species.