Leaf extract of Strychnos ligustrina Blume inhibited Propionibacterium acnes growth in vitro

Abstract

Propionibacterium acnes plays an important role in inducing skin inflammatory mediators and comedogenic acne. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of Strychnos ligustrina Blume leaf extract against P. acnes. This study was an in-vitro experiment with a completely randomized design (CRD) testing five concentrations of ethanolic extract of S. ligustrina leaves. The control treatment was the antibiotic Kindamicin. The anti-bacterial evaluation of the extract was carried out on Mueller-Hinton agar media by using the diffusion method. The inhibition zone was assessed according to NCCLS (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards). Analysis and interpretation of the results used 95% ANOVA (α: 0.05). The results of the study showed that S. ligustrina leaf extract inhibited the bacterial growth of P. acnes. The minimum concentration of the extract that inhibited the growth of P. acne was 25% with a diameter inhibition zone of 4.13 ± 0.13 mm, while the highest concentration of the undiluted extract was 7.88 ± 0.67 mm. Compared to the standard antibiotic Kindamycin (positive control), the ethanolic leaf extract of S. ligustrina was less effective having an inhibition zone of 24.81 ± 0.54 mm. The study suggests that S. ligustrina leaf extract has antimicrobial effects on P. acnes and may be further studied as an herbal remedy for acne.