Abstract
The antimicrobial activities of 56 Palestinian medicinal plants against etiologic agents of acne vulgaris, mainly Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus aureus was studied using disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. The results from the disc diffusion method demonstrated that these plants differ significantly in their activity against the studied microorganisms. The most active plants against all bacterial strains were Rhus coriaria, Ricinus communis, and Sarcopoterium spinosum. Test microorganisms differed significantly in relation to their susceptibility to different plant extracts used. Generally, anaerobic bacteria were more susceptible to plant extracts than aerobic bacteria. Those plants which could inhibit the growth of P. acnes, R. coriaria, R. communis, and S. spinosum had strong inhibitory effects. 43 plants could inhibit the growth of all aerobic bacteria. Based on a broth dilution method, the R. coriaria extract had the greatest antimicrobial effect against P. acnes (MIC 6 mg/ml, MBC 6 mg/ml), S. aureus (MIC 4 mg/ml, MBC 6 mg/ml), E. coli (MIC 6 mg/ml, MBC 8 mg/ml) and P. aeruginosa (4 and 6 mg/ml). Taken together, our data indicate that R. coriaria, R. communis had a strong inhibitory effect on P. acnes and most other test bacteria. Therefore, the two plants would be an interesting topic for further study and possibly for an alternative treatment for acne. Key words: Acne, Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, Echerichia coli,Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus vulgaris, antimicrobial activity.
Highlights
Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit, resulting from androgen-induced increased sebum production, inflammation, altered keratinisation, and bacterial collonisation of hair follicles on the face, neck, chest, and back by Propionibacterium acnes (Williams et al, 2012)
Those plants which could inhibit the growth of P. acnes, R. coriaria, R. communis, and S. spinosum had strong inhibitory effects. 43 plants could inhibit the growth of all aerobic bacteria
Crude ethanolic extracts of 56 plant species used in folk medicine in Palestine for treatment of several infections and diseases (Table 1) were investigated for their antimicrobial activities against 10 strains of P. acnes, and five Gramnegative strains of aerobic bacteria, E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. vulgaris and P. aeruginosa; and one Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus, using two susceptibility tests: the disk diffusion method for measuring the antimicrobial activity, and broth method for the determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for the active plant extracts
Summary
Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit, resulting from androgen-induced increased sebum production, inflammation, altered keratinisation, and bacterial collonisation of hair follicles on the face, neck, chest, and back by Propionibacterium acnes (Williams et al, 2012). As a family of skin disorders, acne is one of the most prevalent dermatologic diseases in the world. It usually affects almost everybody during the life (Scheinfeld, 2007). It affects all most all people aged 15 to 17 years (Rademaker et al, 1989; Law et al, 2010; Yahya, 2009), and is moderate to severe in 15 to 20% (Williams et al, 2012). The pathogenesis of the disease is complex but dependent on several factors including androgenmediated stimulation of sebaceous gland activity, colonization of the bacterium P. acnes (an anaerobic bacterium as a normal constituent of the skin microbial flora), and inflammation (Toyoda and Morohashi, 2001)
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