Abstract

Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd.), belonging to the family Asparagaceae is a well renowned drug since the ancient past. In the Ayurvedic classical Compendiums, the drug has been portrayed as a ‘rakshoghna dravya’ that is, providing protection from microorganism. Moreover the drug has been repeatedly mentioned in the treatment aspects of urinary disorders. Hence an in vitro antimicrobial study has been conducted to analyse the activity of the drug against common pathogens causing urinary infection. The zone of inhibition obtained for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Proteus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans, using the three concentration of the aqueous extract of Shatavari moola choorna (tuberous root powder of Asparagus racemosus Willd.)250μg/mL, 500μg/mL, 1000μg/mL and the standard drugs Streptomycin (10µg) and Clotrimazole (100µg) has been compared.From the result it is evident that the aqueous extract oftuberous roots of Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd) showed significant zone of inhibition against all the uropathogens and shows almost half the effectiveness at 1000 μg/mL concentration of sample drug, to that of the standard drug.

Keywords: Shatavari, urinary infection, uropathogen, zone of inhibition.