Antibacterial activities of selected medicinal plants in traditional treatment of human wounds in Ethiopia.
- Author:
Biruhalem TAYE
1
;
Mirutse GIDAY
;
Abebe ANIMUT
;
Jemal SEID
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Agar well diffusion; Antibacterial activity; Ethiopia; Human wounds; Medicinal plants; Micro titer plate; Plant extracts
- MeSH: Anti-Bacterial Agents; pharmacology; Bacteria; drug effects; Ethiopia; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Plant Extracts; pharmacology; Plants, Medicinal; chemistry
- From:Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine 2011;1(5):370-375
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVETo evaluate the activity of selected Ethiopian medicinal plants traditionally used for wound treatment against wound-causing bacteria.
METHODSSamples of medicinal plants (Achyranthes aspera, Brucea antidysenterica, Datura stramonium, Croton macrostachyus, Acokanthera schimperi, Phytolacca dodecandra, Millettia ferruginea, and Solanum incanum) were extracted using absolute methanol and water and tested for their antimicrobial activities against clinical isolates and standard strains of wound-causing bacteria using agar well diffusion and micro titer plate methods.
RESULTSMost of the plant extracts had antibacterial activities, among which Acokanthera schimperi and Brucea antidysenterica inhibited growth of 100% and 35% of the test organisms, respectively. Methanolic extracts had higher activities compared with their corresponding aqueous extracts. The most susceptible organism to the extracts was Streptococcus pyogens while the most resistant were Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris.
CONCLUSIONSThis finding justifies the use of the plants in wound healing and their potential activity against wound-causing bacteria. Their toxicity level and antimicrobial activity with different extraction solvents should further be studied to use them as sources and templates for the synthesis of drugs to control wound and other disease-causing bacteria.
