Abstract
Infectious diseases caused by fungi and bacteria are among the major causes of illness and death worldwide. This is mainly implicated by the antimicrobial resistance of the current treatment regimens. Since plant products are house stores of bioactive compounds, it is essential to screen plant-based antimicrobials to come up with novel medicines that counter the grave consequences of antimicrobial resistance. In the folk medicine of Ethiopia, Aloe megalacantha is used for the treatment of wound, dandruff, malaria, diabetes, impotence, colon cleansing, amoeba, ascariasis, abdominal pain, urine retention, snake bite, and evil eye. Hence, the present study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal effects of the leaf exudate of Aloe megalacantha. Agar well diffusion was employed to determine the antibacterial and antifungal effects. Six bacterial strains, namely, S. aureus (standard), S. aureus (clinical isolate), E. coli ATCC 25922 (standard), E. coli (clinical isolate), K. pneumoniae (standard), and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (standard), and four fungal strains such as C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei were studied. The leaf exudate showed the highest activity against C. krusei with an average zone diameter of 22.49 ± 0.47 mm at 400 mg/mL. Among the bacterial species, S. aureus ATCC 29213 (standard) was the most sensitive with an average zone of diameter of 16.63 ± 0.12 mm at 200 mg/mL. Thus, the present findings support the folklore use of Aloe megalacantha for the treatment of different microbial infections.
Highlights
Infectious diseases caused by fungi and bacteria are among the major causes of illness and death worldwide. ose consequences are mainly implicated by the dramatic rise of antimicrobial resistance of the current treatment regimens [1]. e terrifying aspect of antimicrobial resistance is not limited to a specified geographical area; instead, it affects the entire globe because no one is immune to antimicrobial resistance [2]
The popular resistant pathogenic organisms which are accompanied with increased morbidity and mortality include Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant S. aureus, vancomycinresistant enterococci, Enterococcus species, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella species, Acinetobacter, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae [3, 4]. ese species pose a fear to the global community because they have been showing a sign of escape from the coverage of the existing antibiotic agents [4]
The clinical isolates E. coli and standard K. pneumonia ATCC 700603 were among the least susceptible species with an average inhibition of 13.03 mm and 13.9 at 200 mg/mL concentration of the leaf exudate, respectively
Summary
Infectious diseases caused by fungi and bacteria are among the major causes of illness and death worldwide. ose consequences are mainly implicated by the dramatic rise of antimicrobial resistance of the current treatment regimens [1]. e terrifying aspect of antimicrobial resistance is not limited to a specified geographical area; instead, it affects the entire globe because no one is immune to antimicrobial resistance [2]. Infectious diseases caused by fungi and bacteria are among the major causes of illness and death worldwide. Fungi species that belong to Candida, Cryptococcus, Pneumocystis, and Aspergillus are the main causes of illness and death [5]. Of these fungal species, Candida species are among the leading causes of superficial and severe life-threatening systemic infections, especially for people living with HIV/AIDS [6]. There is a dramatic increase in the frequency of fungal infections caused by the emerging non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, including Candida tropicalis (C. tropicalis), Candida glabrata (C. glabrata), Candida parapsilosis (C. parapsilosis), and Candida krusei (C. krusei) [7]
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