Abstract

Phyllanthus amarus belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, it is a tiny herb that is known for
its medical benefits and used widely globally. It is also an essential plant in the Indian
Ayurveda medical system, and is used to treat stomach, genitourinary, liver and kidney
problems and disorders. It is an astringent with bitter, stomachic, diuretic, febrifuge, and
antiseptic in gonorrhea, menorrhagia, and other genital disorders, the entire plant is
employed in eastern Asia for the treatment of infections. It helps with gastritis, diarrhea,
dysentery, intermittent fevers, scabies, ulcers, and wounds. The present study aimed at
addressing its activity against Streptococcus pyogenes for the treatment of tonsillitis and also
it’s potential as a possible source of new antimicrobial product for tonsillitis. Distilled water
(maceration method) was used in the extraction of aqueous leaf extracts of Phyllanthus
amarus. Different phytochemical screening techniques were used to identify the
phytochemicals present in the aqueous leaf extract of Phyllanthus amarus. The Agar well
diffusion and broth dilution test methods were used to test for the in-vitro anti-bacterial
activity of the aqueous leaf extract of Phyllanthus amarus against Streptococcus pyogenes.
The percentage yield of Phyllanthus amarus aqueous leaf extracted was 13.88% (83.3mg).
From the results of this research Phyllanthus amarus could be a good source for future drug
developments, from the aqueous leaf extract of Phyllanthus amarus in order to address the
issue of need for new antibiotics due to the alarming burden of antimicrobial resistance.