Ethnomedicinal and phytochemical review of Pakistani medicinal plants used as antibacterial agents against Escherichia coli

Medicinal plants have always been part of human culture and have the potential to cure different diseases caused by microorganisms. In Pakistan, biologists are mainly focusing on plants’ antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli due to its increasing resistance to antibiotics. In total, extracts from 34 ethnomedicinally valuable Pakistani plants were reported for in-vitro anti-E. coli activities. Mostly methanolic extracts of medicinal plants were used in different studies, which have shown comparatively higher inhibitory activities against E. coli than n-hexane and aqueous extracts. It has been found that increasing concentration (mg/ml) of methanolic extract can significantly increase (p < 0.01) anti-E. coli activities. Not all medicinal plants are extracted in solvents others than above, which should also be tested against E. coli. Moreover, medicinal plant species must be fully explored phytochemically, which may lead to the development of new drugs.