In vitro Evaluation of Sersia Lancea Root Extract for the treatment of Common Microbial Infections

Abstract

Searsia lancea (SL) has been exploited by native healers in the Southern African region for the treatment of various bacterial and fungal infections. This study was aimed to analyze the antimicrobial activity and the minimum inhibitory concentration of SL root extract against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, E.coli and Staph aureus. The maceration technique was used as the extraction method. The antifungal and antibacterial activity was determined by the agar well diffusion method. The agar dilution method was used for estimating the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The biological investigations in this study clearly demonstrate the antibacterial and antifungal potential of SL aqueous and organic extract. The aqueous and organic Sersia Lancea root extract achieved zone of inhibition from 17.1-40.2mm against the tested organisms. The order of susceptibility of the pathogens to the tested extracts was found to be S.aureus>Candida Albicans>E.coli>Candida Glabrata. The results of the MIC experiment demonstrate that Candida Albicans and E.Coli were susceptible to the MIC of 3.12mg/mL for the SL distilled water root extract . The MIC of the aqueous extract against Candida glabrata and Staph Aureus were 6.25 and 12.5mg/mL respectively. All the microrgaisms were susceptible to MIC 6.25mg/mL for the DCM extract except for Candida Glabrata with MIC of 12.5mg/mL. The current work has not performed any isolation or structural elucidation studies for the potential compounds responsible for the antimicrobial activity. This is the first report to demonstrate the antibacterial and antifungal property of SL root extract. The results in this work provide scope for future studies to elucidate the structure of potential actives in SL root extract and to test their potential as possible antibacterial and antifungals.