Antimicrobial and phytochemical screening of Trikuta - traditional food of western Rajasthan
Dried plant products of North west Rajasthan which are cooked as a vegetable known as Trikuta-seeds of Acacia Senegal (L.) Willd., unripe fruits of Capparis deciduas (Forssk.) Edgew. and unripe pods of Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce were tested against seven clinical isolates including one Gram positive and six Gram negative bacteria using Agar well diffusion method. Methanolic extract of unripe pods of Prosopis cineraria and unripe fruits of Capparis decidua showed excellent antimicrobial activity against all the clinical isolates, where as seeds of Acacia senegal showed inhibition against five bacterial strains. The lowest MIC values were recorded by the unripe pods of Prosopis cineraria in comparison to unripe fruits of Capparis decidua and seeds of Acacia senegal. The Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides in the Prosopis cineraria and presence of alkaloids, saponins, glycosides in Capparis deidua whereas tannins, alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids and glycosides was evaluated in seeds of Acacia senegal. The study depicts that dried plant products of western Thar Desert possess medicinal properties.