ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF CONTENTS OF TRIPHALA: A TRADITIONAL INDIAN HERBAL PREPARATION

Triphala, a combination of three tropical fruits preparation comprised of equal parts of Terminalia chebula, Emblica officinalis, and Terminalia bellirica, which gently promotes internal detoxification of all conditions of stagnation and improving digestion and assimilation. The aqueous, acetone, ethanol and methanol extracts of these plant’s fruits were prepared and antibacterial activities were tested by disc and well diffusion method against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterobacter aerogenes. The extracts of E. officinalis, T. bellirica and T. chebula were found to antibacterial to all bacterial pathogen tested. Thus it can be suggested that daily intake of triphala may control enteric infections in human being.