Antibacterial Activity of Extracts of Albizia lebbeck Against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis

Abstract

Herbs and medicinal plants have widely been used as the first medicines. The development of new antibacterial drugs got more attention recently because of the continuous development of resistance of bacteria to the current antibiotics. Albizia lebbeck is a type of deciduous tree that has compound leaves, flat oblong fruit and round cream-colored seeds. It grows in wild and is also planted in many parts of South Asia and Africa. There is a significant amount of data to support the healing and curing properties of Albizia lebbeck. A lebbeck has been used in the treatment of various pain and inflammatory conditions in various traditions. Here we used the extracts of Albizia lebbeck against three different bacterial strains namely Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Proteus Mirabilis. Methanol and Ethanol extracts were used to check their antibacterial activity. Results indicated that Albizia lebbeck showed growth inhibition pattern against the tested species, when compared with gentamicin. The results authenticated its traditional use and indicated promising potential of this plant to be developed as antibacterial agent. Further work is needed for isolation, structure elucidation and characterization of bioactive constituents responsible for this activity. These isolated natural products should be screened in vivo and in vitro for antibacterial activity and may be developed as cheap alternatives to costly synthetic antimicrobial agents available in market.