A Comparative Study of Antimicrobial Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum Leaves: An In vitro Study

Tecoma stans is a flowering plant belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. It is the floral emblem of the Bahamas. Abutilon indicum belongs to the family Malvaceae. It is also called Indian Mallow. Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicumhave antimicrobial activity and can be used in producing antibiotics. There is an urgent need to produce new antibiotics as there is an increase in the development of pathogen resistant drugs. The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Tecoma stansand Abutilonindicum leaves. E.faecalis bacteria were maintained in nutrient agar slopes. The powder of the two herbs, were subjected to extraction by Soxhlet extractor and was concentrated to dry residue by Agar well diffusion method. The nutrient broth was inoculated with bacterial strains. The culture was adjusted to 0.5McFarland turbidity standard. Lawn culture was done in Muller-Hinton agar plate and then the plates were dried. A 6 Original Research Article Binigha et al.; JPRI, 33(47B): 609-615, 2021; Article no.JPRI.74401 610 mm diameter well is bored for different concentrations. The extracts were introduced into the well and allowed to stand for 24 hrs. The antibacterial activity was determined by measuring the zone of inhibition. The present finding on the antimicrobial potential of Abutilon indicum and Tecoma stands showed that the two plants have growth inhibitory activity against oral pathogen E. faecalis. Abutilon indicum has a zone of inhibition greater than Tecoma stans. Abutilon indicum exhibited better activity compared to Tecoma stans.

mm diameter well is bored for different concentrations. The extracts were introduced into the well and allowed to stand for 24 hrs. The antibacterial activity was determined by measuring the zone of inhibition. The present finding on the antimicrobial potential of Abutilon indicum and Tecoma stands showed that the two plants have growth inhibitory activity against oral pathogen E. faecalis. Abutilon indicum has a zone of inhibition greater than Tecoma stans. Abutilon indicum exhibited better activity compared to Tecoma stans. Keywords: Abutilon indicum; Tecoma stans; antimicrobial; ethanolic extract; Innovative technique.

INTRODUCTION
One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality around the world, infectious illnesses are a major public health concern due to inefficient use of drugs and microbial resistance. The emergence of harmful bacteria resistant to antibiotics has exacerbated the problem of bacterial resistance in recent years. Medicinal herbs are a large source of natural substances, which are frequently utilised in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and paintings, all of which are essential in everyday life [1]. Antioxidants play a great role in protecting the body from damage by free radicals. The discovery of various bioactive compounds in plants has led to the production of new drugs that have efficient protection against various disease-causing pathogens.
Tecoma stans belong to the family Bignoniaceae with 16 species are present in the genus Tecoma are present in tropical and subtropical areas [2]. It is a perennial shrub and grows to a height of about 2 to 4 meters. In early April, flowering starts and then it continues to fall [3]. It is the floral emblem of the Bahamas. The compounds present in the fruit and flower of Tecoma stans have antioxidant and antiproliferative activity. The chemical compound present in root has anthranilic acid which acts as an antidiabetic agent [4]. The leaves of Tecoma stans inhibit the yeast growth. The plant leaves contain phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, resin, and volatile oil etc. Tecomine separated from T.stans has hypoglycemic effects and play a great role in folk medicine. It is used for an anti-diabetic remedy [5,6]. According to recent studies, the intake of flavonoid decreases the risk of cancer and mainly its functions is to inhibit different stages of carcinogenesis [7,8]. Our team has extensive knowledge and research experience that has translate into high quality publications [9][10][11][12][13].
Abutilon indicum also called Country Mallow, belongs to the family Malvaceae which grows in tropical and subtropical countries. The phytochemicals present in Abutilon indicum are alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and essential oil [14]. The seeds are used to treat coughs and the bark is used as an anthelmintic [15,16]. The leaves are used for treating tender gums, bleeding piles and toothache. It has anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory activity. It has CNS depressant activity [17,18]. It is used as ethanolmedicine by tribal people [19,20,21]. It has antidiarrheal and anticonvulsant properties [22,23,24,25]. However, there is the need to explore the use of Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum plants extracts as antimicrobial agents owing to their potency. Due to lack of research studies on Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum leaves extracts as antimicrobial agents, this study is to compare the efficacies of Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum leaves.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Test Microorganism: The bacterial strain Enterococcus faecali obtained from the Department of microbiology, Saveetha dental College, Saveetha University, Chennai. It was maintained in a nutrient agar slope at 40°C.

Collection of plant powder:
The plants Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum leaves were obtained in powdered form from a registered pharmacy in Arumbakkam, Chennai, India.
Preparation of extract: Dry leaf powders extraction using a soxhlet extractor were taken in bottle and mixed with ethanol, then the mixture was shaken occasionally for 72 hours. Then the extract was filtered. The extracts were kept in a desiccator after being concentrated to dry residue on a water bath assessment of antimicrobial activity by a Agar well diffusion method. The Agar Well diffusion method was used for assessing the antimicrobial activity of the extract of Tecoma stans and Abutilon indicum. The nutrient broth was inoculated with bacterial strains E. faecalis. The broth was incubated at 37°C overnight. The culture was then adjusted to 0.5McFarland turbidity standard.

Muller-Hinton agar plates [MHA-HiMedia M1084]
were used for the culture of the test organism. This was done with the help of sterile cotton q tips the place were then kept for drying. Then, 6 mm diameter well was bored by a sterile cork for different concentrations of the extract (25, 50, 75, 100μg/ml). The extracts were introduced into the well with the help of micropipettes. The culture plates were allowed to stand on the working bench for 30 minutes for pre-diffusion and then incubated in an upright position for 24 hours and 37°C. After 24 hours, antibacterial activity was determined by measuring the diameter of the zone of inhibition in millimeters (mm). All the tests were carried out thrice, to minimize error.

RESULT
The present finding on the antimicrobial potential of Abutilon indicum and Tecoma stans showed that the two plants have growth inhibitory activity against oral pathogen E. faecalis (Fig. 1). As the concentration of extract increases, its antimicrobial activity also increases. The ethanolic extract of both herbs has good antimicrobial activity. But for a particular concentration Abutilon indicum has higher antimicrobial activity when compared to Tecoma stans (Table 1). This result clearly indicates that the plant extract may be considered as an antimicrobial agent for oral diseases. In view of these findings other parts of these plants have been shown to reduce the growth of the various pathogenic microorganisms.
From Table 1 we can infer that as the concentration of extract increases its antimicrobial activity also increases, thus the extract of both herbs shown an antimicrobial activity.
However, for each particular concentration, Abutilon indicum exhibited higher antimicrobial activity compared to Tecoma stans.

DISCUSSION
The antibacterial properties of ethanolic extracts of Abutilon indicum and T.stans against bacterial species were investigated in this study. Extracts of Abutilon indicum and Tecoma stans were found to be effective against E. faecalis. In a dose-dependent manner, the extracts inhibited the development of the bacteria. Abutilon indicum extracts were found to be more effective in the study.  (21). According to previous study, the ethanolic extract of Abutilon indicum showed better antibacterial activity compared to chloroform extract [26]. Few studies reported, aqueous extract of Abutilon indicum has less effective antibacterial activity [17,27].  [38,39] whereas, the leaf extract of Pluchea indica also has antibacterial activity against E. faecalis [40,41].

CONCLUSION
Based on this study, Abutilon indicum has higher antimicrobial activity than Tecoma stans against E. faecalis.

CONSENT
It is not applicable.

ETHICAL APPROVAL
It is not applicable.

DISCLAIMER
The products used for this research are commonly and predominantly use products in our area of research and country. There is absolutely no conflict of interest between the authors and producers of the products because we do not intend to use these products as an avenue for any litigation but for the advancement of knowledge. Also, the research was not funded by the producing company rather it was funded by personal efforts of the authors.