Abstract

The crude methanolic extract along with the n-hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, n-butanol and aqueous fractions from the stem of Chenopodium ambrosioides Linn was studied against human pathogenic bacterial strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram negative bacteria), Staphylococcus aureus, Bacilus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis (Gram positive bacteria) while against the fungal strains of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Trycophyton horzianum, Rhizopus tolenapur and Aspergillus flavus. The tested bacterial strains were taken from Center for Phytomedicine and Medicinal Organic Chemistry (CPMMOC) University of Peshawar, Pakistan which were previously collected from hospital patients of Khyber Teaching Hospital, University road Peshawar, Pakistan while the antifungal strains were collected from Center for Biotechnology and microbiology (CBM) University of Peshawar, Pakistan which were also in advance collected from hospital patients of Khyber Teaching Hospital, University road Peshawar. The selected strains were tested against crude extract and its fractions. Zones of inhibition were measured by using National Committee for Clinical Lab Standards (NCCLS) method in which for antibacterial activities, streptomycine while meconozole was used as standard drugs for antifungal activities. Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) was used as negative control in both cases. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane as well as n-butanol fractions showed moderate to significant activities against all bacterial strains especially against B. subtilus, K. pneumoniae and S. epidermidis. The fractions showed low antifungal activities against these strains.

Key words: Antibacterial, antifungal, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus Parasiticus, Trycophyton horzianum, Rhizopus tolenapur , Aspergillus flavus, moderate, significant.