Green Global
Foundation   Journal
...an emerging window for scientific research and publication across the globe

EXTRACTS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS ACT AGAINST MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PATHOGENS (Pages : 4 - 9)

Antimicrobial resistance (AR) is recognized as one of the greatest threats to public health and in global concern. Consequently, the increased morbidity and mortality, which are associated with multidrug resistant bacteria, urgently require the development of novel and more efficient drugs. The in vitro antibacterial activity of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts obtained from 10 medicinal plants (Abroma augusta, Desmodium motorium, Blumea balsamifera, Eclipta prostrate, Plumbago indica, Leonurus sibiricus, Cassia alata, Plumbago capensis, Costus speciosus and Aerva sanguinolenta) and 13 standard antibiotics (cefradine, amoxycilline, doxycycline, cefixime, erythromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, clindamycin, imipenem, cloxacillin, azithromycin and vancomycin) was assessed against three Gram-negative multidrug resistant clinical isolates (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella sp.). The zone of inhibition as determined by disk diffusion assay method varied with the plant extract, the solvent used for extraction, and the organism tested. Methanol extracts obtained from medicinal plants, Leonurus sibiricus and Costus speciosus, were found to be more potent being capable of exerting significant inhibitory activities against the multidrug resistant tested pathogens. These two extracts may be used as source for the development of new, natural antimicrobial drugs. Other plant extracts showed either less activity or now activity at all. Almost all the standard antibiotics except imipenem used in the concentration failed to suppress the growth of the multidrug resistant tested pathogens. Download