PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CHROZOPHORA TINCTORIA AND ARISTOLOCHIA BRACTEOLATA YEMENI PLANTS USED IN FOLK MEDICINE.

The research on medicinal plants is gradually gaining popularity due to millions of people depending on the use of different parts of these materials for various ailments. The present study aims to screen and study two selected Yemeni medicinal plants Chrozophora tinctoria L. and Aristolochia bracteolata L. for their phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity against two resistant bacterial pathogens Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the disc diffusion method. The solvents used for the extraction of plant leaves, stem and fruits were 90% methanol and absolute methanol. The phytochemical constituents of various parts of these plants were investigated using standard methods of phytochemical screening. Qualitative screening revealed that tannins, phenols, flavonoids glycosides and anthroquinones were present in all the parts of the plants, whereas triterpinoids, steroids, volatile oils and cardiac glycosides were absent in all parts of the C. tinctoria. On the other hand, saponins were absent in all the parts of the A. bracteolata, while alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids were present only in some parts of the C. tinctoria. The antibacterial activity revealed that the leaves and stem 90% methanolic extract of C. tinctoria gave the widest zone of inhibition against the Staph. aureus but no inhibition was observed against Ps. aeruginosa, while methanol extract of A. bracteolata did not show any activity against Staph. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa.