Abstract
The emerging trends of multidrug resistance among several groups of microorganisms against different classes of antibiotics led different researchers to develop efficient drugs from plant sources to counter multidrug resistant strains. This study investigated different solvent extracts of Prosopis spicigera (P. Spicigera), Zingiber officinale, and Trachyspermum ammi (T. ammi) to determine their efficacy against multidrug resistant microbes. Successive extractions of these plants were performed using a Soxhlet apparatus, using solvents with increasing polarities. Preliminary phytochemical analysis was also performed. Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by a two-fold serial dilution method followed by determination of minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration. Multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Escherichia coli and reference strains of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus bovis were used in the study. The ethanolic fraction of P. spicigera (least minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] - 4.88 microg/ml) demonstrated a remarkable inhibition of the microorganisms while fractions obtained from those of Zingiber officinale (least MIC-78.125 microg/ml) exhibited little activity. The petroleum ether fraction of T. ammi (least MIC- 625 microg/ml) showed best activity when compared to its other fractions. Qualitative analysis of the phytoconstituents was also performed. The potency shown by these extracts recommends their use against multidrug resistant microorganisms. This study also showed that P. spicigera could be a potential source of new antimicrobial agents.
Highlights
Many efforts have been made to discover new antimicrobial compounds from various kinds of sources such as plants, animals and microorganisms
Results obtained in the present study revealed that the three plant extracts tested possess potential antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli, S. mutans and S. bovis as well as antifungal activity against Multidrug resistant (MDR) C. albicans, C
The highest antibacterial activity exhibited by this fraction of 4.88 μg/ml was against S. bovis and the least activity of 312.5 μg/ml was recorded in two strains of C. albicans
Summary
Many efforts have been made to discover new antimicrobial compounds from various kinds of sources such as plants, animals and microorganisms. A large number of plant products have long been utilized as a source of therapeutic agents worldwide [1,2,3]. As opposed to synthetic drugs, antimicrobials of plant origin are not associated with many adverse effects and have an enormous therapeutic potential to heal many infectious diseases. The most common cause of bacterial resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the production of β-lactamases. The emerging trends of multidrug resistance among several groups of microorganisms against different classes of antibiotics led different researchers to develop efficient drugs from plant sources to counter multidrug resistant strains. This study showed that P. spicigera could be a potential source of new antimicrobial agents
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