A Study on Anti bacterial Properti es of Costus speciosus

Abstract

Anti bioti c resistant bacteria have posed a serious threat to world health in recent years, forcing the investi gati on of alternate sources for anti bacterials. Higher plants are a key source of medicinal compounds. The objecti ve of this study was to evaluate the anti bacterial properti es of C. speciosus against gram-negati ve E. coli and gram-positi ve Staphylococcus aureus, to explore its potenti al as a natural alternati ve to conventi onal anti bioti cs. Leaves, stems, and rhizomes of C. speciosus were extracted using hexane, methanol, and water as solvents with refl ux, sonicati on and macerati o. Anti bacterial acti vity was assessed using the disk diff usion assay, with gentamycin as a positi ve control. The stemmethanolic extract showed greater inhibiti on against both organisms compared to hexane extracts. Stemwater extracts were eff ecti ve only against S. aureus. The rhizome-methanolic extract inhibited E. coli more than S. aureus, while the hexane extract was more eff ecti ve against S. aureus. The rhizome-water extract inhibited the growth of both bacterial strains. Leaf extracts demonstrated signifi cant inhibiti on against E. coli but no acti vity against S. aureus. This study shows that C. speciosus has signifi cant anti bacterial properti es, varying with plant part, solvent, and organism. Given the rise in anti bioti cresistant bacteria, C. speciosus is a promising natural source of anti bacterial agents.