CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Medicinal plants
represent a rich
source of anti microbial and
many other drugs.
The potentials of higher plants as
source for new
drugs is still
largely unexplored. Antibiotic
resistance has become
a global concern (Westhet al., 2004).
The clinical efficacy
of many existing
antibiotics is being threatened by the
emergence of multi drug-resistant pathogens (Bandow,
2003). Many infectious diseases have been
known to be
treated with herbal
remedies throughout the
history of mankind. Natural products,
either as pure
compounds or as
standardized plant extracts,
provide unlimited opportunities for new drug leads because of the unmatched
availability of chemical diversity. There is a continuous and urgent need to discover new antimicrobial compounds
with diverse chemical structures and novel
mechanisms of action
for new and
re-emerging infectious diseases
(Rojas et al., 1992). Therefore, researchers
are increasingly turning
their attention tolocal
herbs, looking for
new leads to develop better drugs against microbial infections (Benkeblia,
2004). The increasing failure of chemo therapeutics and antibiotic resistance exhibited
by pathogenic microbial infectious agents has
led to the screening
of several medicinal
plants for their potential
antimicrobial activity (Kapila, 2005 ;Runyoro et
al.,2006). The rising prevalence of
antibiotics resistant pathogenic microorganisms raises the demand for finding new alternative antimicrobial
agents. The drugs already in use to treat infectious disease are of concern because drug safety remains an
enormous global issue. Most of the synthetic drugs cause side effects and also most of the
microbes developed resistant against the synthetic drugs (Chanda and Rakholiya 2011). To alleviate this problem,
antimicrobial compounds from potential plants should be explored. These drugs from plants are less toxic;
side effects are scanty and alsocost effective.
They are effective
in the treatment
of infectious diseases while simultaneously mitigating many
of the side effects that are often associated with synthetic antimicrobial (Harishchandraet
al., 2012). Published studies in medical journals
show that coconut in one form or another
may provide a wide range of
health benefits. The
coconut plant Cocos
nucifera (family Arecaceae)
is considered as an important fruit crop
in tropical countries.
It is commonly
available plant with
wide variety of applications in food, drinks, fibers,
building materials and various chemicals finding their way into a huge range of
modern day products.
Being highly nutritious
coconuts have also
been studied for medicinal qualities. Modern medical science is now confirming the
medicinal qualities of Cocos
nucifera which are
used for the treatment wide range of infections. Based on the knowledge of the
traditional herbs used for the treatment for local
application, coconut husk
can be use
as a topical
antimicrobial. As preliminary investigation of the use of coconut husk, the antimicrobial activity can be
evaluated.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives are
to:
(a) Evaluate the
phytochemical and antimicrobial
activities of Methalonic
extract of young Cocos nucifera husk
on selected pathogenic microorganisms.
(b) Evaluate the
antimicrobial activities andyoung
Cocos nucifera water
on selected pathogenic microorganisms
1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE
RESEARCH
Cocos nucifera husk and
Cocos nucifera water
are traditionally used in the treatment of wide variety of diseases, it has
been used from
time immemorial for
the treatment of
carcinogenic infections. This study scientifically justifies the use of young Coconut husk and young Coconut
water in traditional folk medicine and to compare their antimicrobial potency with the commercial
antibiotics.