Phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of Bridelia crenulata

Bridelia crenulata Roxb., Euphorbiaceae, is known as Adamaruthu, Maarivengai, Mulvengai and Oothiravengai in the Tamil language. The women of the Paliyan tribes in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu in India consume a bark extract to cure menorrhagia. Isolation yielded friedelin, epi-friedelinol, n-octacosanol, alpha-amyrin, beta-sitosterol, beta-sitosterol-3-beta-D-glucopyranoside and luteoforol. Aqueous and methanolic extracts and their fractions were tested against 10 human pathogenic bacteria and 4 fungal strains. Inhibitory activities were maximum in the chloroform methanol (1:1) fraction of the methanolic extract against E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa, which are responsible for the pathogenesis of urinary tract infection. The study provides scientific evidence for the efficacy of the use.