Abstract
The high prevalence of morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections, together with the growing threat of antibacterial resistance, necessitated the development of alternative new drugs from traditional medicine. In Ethiopia, Impatiens tinctoria A. Rich has been traditionally used for the treatment of fungal infections such as ringworms that cause tinea pedis and it have also different medical values. Scientific information on its biological activity against a broad range of bacteria and safety data is scant, compared to its folklore data. In this study, we evaluated antibacterial activities and acute oral toxicity of aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate root extracts of Impatiens tinctoria A. Rich. Aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the plant were evaluated using agar hole diffusion and agar dilution methods. Biological activities of the plant extracts were expressed as a zone of inhibition diameter, minimum inhibitory concentration (mg/ml), and minimum bactericidal concentration (mg/ml). The safety studies were performed by oral acute toxicity study according to the organization of economic cooperation and development test Guidelines 420.Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the extracts compared to gram-negative bacteria, especially against S. aureus and S. epidermidis, which are commonly found in the skin. Ethyl acetate extract was more potent than ethanol and aqueous extracts. The 50% lethal dose (LD50) of tested mice was above 9600 mg/kg. This study provides a scientific basis for the antibacterial activity of the root extracts of I. tinctoria A. Rich, where, the ethyl acetate extract showed the most promising activity. Therefore, the antibacterial potential and practical non-toxicity of the study plant extracts suggested the possibility of using it for the development of antimicrobial drugs by further studying the plant in different directions.
Highlights
Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost13.4 million people per year
Antibacterial activity screening by the agar-holemethod
A total of 13 bacteria were assessed by Antibacterial and acute toxicity agar well diffusion assay at concentrations of 100, 200, and 400 mg/ml for each extract in triplicate
Summary
Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost13.4 million people per year. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts 13 million deaths attributed to this cause in 2050 [1,2]. Infections due to a variety of bacterial etiologic agents. Antibacterial and acute toxicity become common and are taking the big share of the burden [1]. Severe infections, including sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia, are estimated to cause approximately one-third of the 2.6 million neonatal deaths globally, most of which are in less affluent regions of our planet [1]. In Ethiopia, infectious diseases are the top five leading causes of premature mortality [3]
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