Phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of selected aromatic plants in the Philippines

The assessment of antimicrobial activity and phytochemical screening were done on three native aromatic plants found in the Philippines: Lantana camara L., Pandanus amaryllifolius and Piper betel. The sample leaves of these plants were collected in Sablan, Benguetas for study and processed using methanol as solvent. The qualitative analysis and phytochemical screening revealed the presence of glycosides, carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids from the three samples. Steroid is slightly present in both L. camara and P. amaryllifolius but absent in P. betel. The antimicrobial sensitivity testing, was done by measuring the inhibition zones of different bacterial cultures, using the disc plate method. The methanol extract of L. camara showed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas auroginosa but showed no antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium. The methanol extract of P. amaryllifolius showed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and P. auroginosa. It also showed slight antimicrobial property against E. coli and S. typhimurium. On the other hand, methanol extract of P. betel showed antimicrobial property against E. coli, S. aureus and P. auroginosa. It has no antimicrobial property against S. typhimurium. Among the three, the methanol extracts of P. betel showed more antimicrobial property against E. coli and P. auroginosa. The methanol extracts of L. camara and P. amyrrllifolius showed more antimicrobial activity against P. auroginosa. The antimicrobial properties of the three samples were compared with the standard kanamycin. The study recommends that large-scale production of medicinal (antimicrobial) products from the three aromatic plants would be beneficial to the Filipino natives where these plants are in abundance as a cheaper alternative medicine.