Antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal activities of some selected medicinal plants of polygonaceae.

Abstract

Globalization interferes with infectious disease control at the national level while microbes move freely around the world, unhindered by borders, human responses to infectious diseases and are conditioned by jurisdictional boundaries (Stepanovic et al., 2003). According to WHO, important progress has been made in controlling major infectious diseases. About 43% of total deaths occurred in developing countries due to infectious diseases in recent years (Carballo et al., 2002). Similarly, freedom from insect infestation and contamination has become an important consideration in storage of grain and to maintain high quality food product by preventing them from attack of the most frequently invading organisms (Coolins, 1998). Nearly one thousand species of insects have been associated with store products throughout the world, of which the majority belong to Coleoptera (60%) and Lepidoptera (8 - 9%) (Champ, 1981). Some species of the plant family Polygonaceae were used in folk medicine. The leaves and shoots of