Preliminary Evaluation for Phytochemicals in Tribulus Terrestris and Its Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

Medicinal herbs have a long history in improving human health and curing various diseases. A wide interest has been made for researchers using herbal material in identification of the active components and verification of their efficiency. We evaluated the aqueous and methanol extracts of Tribulus terrestris (T. terrestris) for the phytochemical content and its antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids flavonoids, saponins, anthraquinone, terpenoids, tannins, reducing sugar, and Cardiac Glycosides, etc. Disc diffusion method determined antibacterial effect of T. terrestris extracts. Methanolic extract have shown better inhibition than aqueous, again all the tested pathogens. Our results indicate that T. terrestris has potential therapeutic phytochemicals, which can be used as an alternative medicine for human health.

Keywords: T. terrestris, phytochemical, antibacterial agent, broad spectrum