Screening of medicinal plants for antimicrobial activity: pharmacognosy and microbiological perspectives

The use of medicinal plants for human ailments precedes the introduction of conventional antibiotics. However, medicinal plants continue to enjoy human patronage because they are cheap, readily available and free from side effects often associated with conventional antibiotics. Reproducibility, on the part of screening plants for antimicrobial activity, has become a challenge both from the pharmacognosy and microbiology points of view. This review addresses the sampling techniques, phytochemical screening and the concept of metabolomics in relation to medicinal plants as well as the applicability and the advantages and disadvantages of some microbiological methodologies used in screening medicinal plants for their antimicrobial activity.