Effects of Flower and Fruit Extracts ofMelastoma malabathricumLinn. on Growth of Pathogenic Bacteria:Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli,andSalmonella typhimurium

Siti Nurhadis Che Omar,Muhajir Hamid,Khairul Anuar Khairoji,Sieo Chin Chin,Janna Ong Abdullah

doi:10.1155/2013/459089

Abstract

Melastoma malabathricum Linn. is a shrub that comes with beautiful pink or purple flowers and has berries-like fruits rich in anthocyanins. This study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the inhibitory activities of different concentrations of the M. malabathricum Linn. flower and fruit crude extracts against Listeria monocytogenes IMR L55, Staphylococcus aureus IMR S244, Escherichia coli IMR E30, and Salmonella typhimurium IMR S100 using the disc diffusion method. The lowest concentrations of the extracts producing inhibition zones against the test microorganisms were used to determine their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs). In addition, the growth of Listeria monocytogenes IMR L55 and Staphylococcus aureus IMR S244 grown in medium supplemented with the respective extracts at different temperatures (4°C, 25°C, and 37°C) and pHs (4, 6, 7, and 8) was determined.

Highlights

Antibiotic resistance is currently the greatest challenge to effective treatment of infections globally
Inhibitory activities of the crude flower and fruit extracts of M. malabathricum L. tested using the disc diffusion method against L. monocytogenes strain L55 and S. aureus strain S244 were summarised in Figures 1(a) and 1(b)
Results are the means of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) values followed by the standard deviations

Summary

Introduction

Antibiotic resistance is currently the greatest challenge to effective treatment of infections globally. The continuous emergence of new antibiotic resistant strains day by day has become a major problem for patients. Microorganisms are endowed with the ability to protect themselves against natural antibiotics by showing resistance through the exchange of genetic materials with other organisms. With the increase of microbial resistance to antibiotics, there is considerable interest in investigating the antimicrobial effects of different types of plant extracts as potential sources of natural antimicrobials against a wide range of microorganisms. There is a growing interest to use plant extracts of herbs and spices for the preservation of foods, as they possess a characteristic flavour and sometimes show antioxidant and antimicrobial activities [2, 3]. Crude extracts from plants with a history of use in folk medicines have been screened in vitro for antibacterial activity by many research groups [4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion