Bactericidal effect of selected antidiarrhoeal medicinal plants on intracellular heat-stable enterotoxin-producing Escherichia coli

Diarrhoeal diseases due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli continue to be a cause of global concern. Medicinal plants have been gaining popularity as promising antidiarrhoeal agents. In the present study, four antidiarrhoeal plants, viz. Aegle marmelos, Cyperus rotundus, Psidium guajava and Zingiber officinale were screened against a heat-stable toxin-producing enterotoxigenic E. coli strain. Decoctions of these plants were studied for their effect on intracellular killing of the bacterial strain using murine monocytic cell line, J774. [ 3 H] thymidine release assay was used to evaluate the apoptotic/necrotic effect. All plants at concentrations