Investigation into the impact of certain leaf extracts derived from Inula viscosa L. on various strains of pathogenic bacteria in poultry

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the efficacy of acetone, ethanol, hexane, diethyl ether, and aqueous extracts from clay plants against four pathogenic bacteria commonly found in poultry: Escherichia coli, Streptococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Clostridium perfringens. The research took place in the microbiology and drug laboratories of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Tartous, as well as the microbiology laboratory at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering at Tishreen University. Tayon plant leaves were harvested in October and November of 2021 from the Safita region, dried, and stored for future use. The susceptibility tests were carried out on the four bacteria under investigation using the five different extracts. The findings revealed that Escherichia coli, Streptococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Clostridium perfringens were all impacted by the extracts, except for Escherichia coli which displayed resistance to acetone, ethanol, hexane, and diethyl ether extracts, but not to the aqueous extract. Pseudomonas aeruginosa also exhibited resistance to the diethyl ether extract at concentrations of 20 and 40 μl, with no inhibition zone observed. At a concentration of 80 μl, the largest average diameter of the bacterial growth inhibition zone was observed for the acetone extract (4.82, 24.95, 15.41, and 22.14 mm), ethanol (9.32, 28.11, 22.98, and 29.24 mm), hexane (6.42, 18.91, 13.23, and 17.47 mm), diethyl ether (9.33, 21.22, 9.56, and 18.75 mm), and aqueous extract (23.45, 26.22, 15.71, and 24.12 mm), respectively, in comparison to concentrations of 20 and 40 microliters and the control. These results suggest that the plant leaf extracts possess antimicrobial properties against the pathogenic bacterial strains tested, indicating their potential as natural sources of antibiotics in the future.