Wide spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities in the seeds of some coprophilous plants of North Indian plains

Abstract

In a survey at Lucknow, India, the seedlings of plant species which are prescribed in the Indian traditional system of medicine for a variety of infectious diseases were found to predominate on fresh or decomposing cattle dung, a harsh medium for plant growth due to high microbial load and other abiotic factors. Plants of most of the common species did not occur on the cattle dung heaps. It was hypothesized that plant species which are able to grow on cattle dung may have antimicrobial compounds in their seeds to protect them from microbial attack. In confirmation, the seeds of 15 of the coprophilous (kopros-dung, philein-to love) plant species, identified as occurring most frequently on fresh/decomposing cattle dung were directly tested against eight bacterial and three fungal strains. Interestingly, seeds of all the examined species exhibited antimicrobial activity. The seeds of the species found more frequently on the cattle dung heaps possessed higher levels of antimicrobial activities.