Research Article ISSN: 0974-6943

Kavita Gahlot et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2011,4(3),641-642

Available online through www.jpronline.info Evaluation of antibacterial activity of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum Linn
Kavita Gahlot 1,2 * Santosh Kumar 1, Reeta Sahu 1 1 Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, College of Pharmacy, IFTM, Moradabad-244001 U.P. (India). 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Birla Institute of Technology,Ranchi-835215(India)

Received on: 05-10-2010; Revised on: 14-12-2010; Accepted on:09-02-2011 ABSTRACT

Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Wild Thyme or Creeping Thyme is a species of thyme native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. It has antifungal, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antioxidant, strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, deodorant, diaphoretic, disinfectant, expectorant, sedative activities. Thymus serpyllum L. was studied for its antimicrobial activity. The aerial parts of this plant were dried, powdered and ethanolic and aqueous extract was prepared by hot percolation method. Four microorganisms namely Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used for investigation. The antibacterial activity of ethanol and aqueous extracts of Thymus serpyllum L. was conducted using agar disc diffusion method and then the zone of inhibition for both extract was measured. The results of our antimicrobial assay revealed that plant extracts showed inhibitory activity against the tested organisms.

Key words: Antimicrobial activity, Thymus serpyllum , ethanol extract, aqueous extract, Phytochemical
INTRODUCTION With the rising prevalence of microorganism showing resistance to antibiotics, there is an urgency to develop new antimicrobial compounds. Since antiquity, plants have been used to treat common infectious diseases. The healing potential of many plants have been utilized by Indian traditional medicines like Siddha, Ayurvedha and Unani. Being nontoxic and easily affordable, there has been resurgence in the consumption and demand for medicinal plants [1, 2]. Thymus serpyllum Linn family-Lamiaceae known by the common names of Wild Thyme or Creeping Thyme is a species of thyme native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate sub shrub growing to 2 cm tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm long, with oval evergreen leaves 38 mm long. The strongly scented flowers are either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, or a rare white, all 46 mm long and produced in clusters. The hardy plant tolerates some pedestrian traffic and produces odors ranging from heavily herbal to lightly lemon, depending on the plant [3] .It is an important nectar source plant for honeybees as well as the large blue butterfly which feeds exclusively on wild thyme. Flowering thyme is one of the oldest herbal remedies; it is given for coughs, bronchitis, and indigestion. A natural antiseptic, it is also used as a gargle for throat infections and as an infusion to disinfect wounds. The active ingredients of Thymus serpyllum L. are Volatile oil containing thymol, carvacrol, cineole, borneol, linalool, and pinene; flavonoids, apigenin and luteolin; tannins. The whole plant is anthelmintic, antioxidant, strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, deodorant, diaphoretic, disinfectant, expectorant, sedative and tonic[4]. Internally, it is taken in the treatment of bronchitis, catarrh, laryngitis, flatulent indigestion, painful menstruation, colic and hangovers. Externally, it is applied to minor injuries, mastitis, mouth, throat and gum infection [5].The present investigation has been carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extract of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. MATERIALS & METHODS Plant collection: The fresh plant of Thymus serpyllum L. was collected from Tarikhet (Ranikhet).The collected material is identified, authentified in Paudhalaya Kshetriya Vanaspati Anushandhan Sanshthan Tarikhet(Ranikhet).The herbarium(specimen no. COP/IFTM-132) is preserved in museum of College of Pharmacy, IFTM, Moradabad. Fresh plant materials were shade dried and homogenized to a coarse powder. Plant extraction Extracts were prepared from dried coarse powder of all aerial parts using Soxhlet apparatus. Material was extracted for 72 hrs. using 95 % ethanol that was alcoholic extract. For aqueous extract the powder obtained after soxhlation was under process of decoction with sufficient distilled water than filter, evaporate the filtrate on water bath. Both alcoholic and aqueous extract were kept in the desecrator till the further use [6, 7, 8]. Phytochemical screening Both extracts prepared above were screened for the presence of various groups of Phytoconstituents using different chemical tests [9]. Antibacterial assay Microorganisms tested The organisms used for this study include Staphylococcus aureus-NCIM 2079, Bacillus subtilis-NCIM 2439, Escherichia coli- NCIM 2831, Pseudomonas aeruginosa- NCIM 2863.
Table 1. Preliminary Phytocnemical Screening of different extracts of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L.
Group of Pytoconstituent Carbohydrates Proteins Fats and Oils Cardic glycosides Anthraquinone glycoside Saponin glycoside Flavonoids Alkaloids Tannins Extracts EE AE + + + + + + +

Antimicrobial Activity Antimicrobial assay of solvent extracts were performed by agar disc diffusion method [10]. Stock cultures were maintained at 4C on slants of nutrient agar. Active cultures for experiments were prepared by transferring a loopful of colonies from the stock culture to peptone water and incubated for 4h at 37C. Standard suspension of bacteria was inoculated on the surface of Muller-Hinton (Himedia) agar plates. Dimethyl Sulphoxide was used to dissolve the plant extract. Sterilized filter paper discs (5mm) saturated at concentrate of 50 g and 100 g of each extract were arranged on the surface of the inoculated plates and incubated at 37C for 18-24h. Along with this 30g ciprofloxacin disc (Himedia standard) was studied for antimicrobial activity as a positive control whereas the solvent used for preparing extract was used as a negative control. At the end of incubation, Antibacterial activity was determined by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zones formed around the disc was measured with Himedia zone scale [11, 12, 13]. For each strain, controls were included that comprised pure solvents instead of the extract [14].The experiments were repeated three times and the mean values were presented. RESULTS The present study carried out on the plant extract revealed the possession of medicinal activities.The phytochemicals present in Thymus serpyllum L.were represented in Table 1. Carbohydrates, saponin glycoside and tannins were present in aqueous extract. Fats and oils, saponin glycoside, flavoniods and tannins were present in ethanol extract. The antibacterial activity of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. suggests that the extract contains the effective active Phytochemicals responsible for the elimination of microorganisms. In vitro antibacterial activity of ethanol and aqueous extract of all aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. were observed in Table 2.

EE = Ethanolic extract, AE= Aqueous extract, + indicates present, - indicates absent Table 2 . In vitro antibacterial activity of extracts of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L.
Test organism Zone of Inhibition in mm Different extracts (g/disc) EE AE 50 g 100 g 50 g 21 15 21 16 25 17 23 19 21 11 8 11 Ciprofloxacin (30 g/disc) 100 g 22 12 11 11 44 28 40 30

*Corresponding author.
Kavita Gahlot Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, College of Pharmacy, IFTM, Moradabad- 44001 U.P. (India). Tel.: + 91-9456099848 E-mail:kavita_pharma@yahoo.co.in

B.subtilis (NCIM - 2439 S.aureus (NCIM - 2079 E.coli (NCIM -2831) P.aeruginosa (NCIM-2863)

EE= ethanol extract, AE = Aqueous extract,

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.4.Issue 3. March 2011

641-642

Kavita Gahlot et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2011,4(3),641-642

DISCUSSION Preliminary Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of flovonoids, saponin glycosides, tannins and carbohydrates. These bioactive substances are reported to confer resistance to plants against bacteria, fungi and pests. The presence of these compounds in extracts of Thymus serpyllum were responsible for the exhibition of antibacterial activities. Antibacterial activity of extracts of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. is compared with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The ethanolic extract were found to have good antibacterial activity against all organisms Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli where as aqueous extract shows good antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis .The inhibitory effect of the extract justified the ethnobotanical usage of Thymus serpyllum as health remedy and further study is required to find out the active component of medicinal value from the extracts of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. Thus provides safe, easy, effective and practical solutions to every day ailments leaving behind no toxins and creating a clean, pleasant atmosphere. The overall results of this study are very encouraging and indicate that this herb should be studied more extensively to explore its potential in the treatment of many infectious diseases. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author is thankful to Dr. A.K. Ghosh and Dr. R.M. Dubey for providing all the facilities and requisite support for completion of this work and for their constant motivation.

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Source of support: Nil, Conflict of interest: None Declared

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.4.Issue 3. March 2011

641-642