Giloy (Tinospora Cordifolia): In Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties

Antibiotic resistance has become a global concern and hence, the search for other source of antimicrobials initiated to find a way to control infections in future. The main objective of this paper is to screen Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia) for its antibacterial activity. The stem of Tinospora cordifolia is used to prepare extract for determining it’s in vitro antibacterial activity as per the agar well diffusion method. In the agar well diffusion method 100μl of 24 hr broth culture of bacteria was aseptically and evenly swabbed on Mueller Hinton agar plates. Wells of about 8 mm diameter were aseptically cut using sterile cork-borer. 100 μl of plant extracts of different concentrations were then placed into the separate wells. The plates were incubated at 37 oC for 24hr. Antimicrobial activity of the giloy was determined by measuring the diameter of zone of inhibition. The methanolic extract of Tinospora cordifolia showed 13, 11, 9 and 5 mm zone of inhibition in S. aureus cultures by using 100, 75, 50 and 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively while hot water extract of Tinospora cordifolia showed 14, 12, 10 and 8 mm zone of inhibition for S. aureus by using 100, 75, 50 and 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively and the cold extract of Tinospora cordifolia showed 10, 8, 5 and 0 mm zone of inhibition for S. aureus by using 100, 75, 50 and 25mg/ml concentration, respectively. The methanolic extract of Tinospora cordifolia indicated 12, 10, 6 and 4 mm zone of inhibition in cultures of E.coli by using 100, 75, 50 and 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively and the hot water extract of Tinospora cordifolia showed 16, 14, 12 and 10 mm zone of inhibition in cultures of E.coli by using 100, 75, 50 and 25mg/ml concentration, respectively. The cold water extract of Tinospora cordifolia showed 13, 10, 8, and 5 mm zone of inhibition in cultures of E.coli by using 100, 75, 50 and 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively. It has been observed that Tinospora cordifolia showed very promising results as indicated by the zone of inhibition of bacterial culture through agar well diffusion method that varies from few mm to few cm. This study indicates the in-vitro antibacterial effect of Giloy which needs further validation through in-vivo studies.