In vitro Antistaphylococcal Activity of the Extracts of Several Neglected Plants in Malaysia

• Published in: International journal of pharmacology Vol. 3; no. 5; pp. 428 - 431
• Main Authors: Zakaria, Z.A., Jais, A.M. Mat, Mastura, M., Jusoh, S.H. Mat, Mohamed, A.M., Jamil, N.S. Mohd, Rofiee, M.S., Sulaiman, M.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.10.2007
• Subjects: Bauhinia purpurea; Corchorus capsularis; Dicranopteris linearis; Muntingia calabura; Staphylococcus aureus
• ISSN: 1811-7775
• DOI: 10.3923/ijp.2007.428.431

The present study was carried out to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the aqueous, methanol and chloroform extracts of several plants available in Malaysia, namely Muntingia calabura (L.), Melastoma malabathricum (L.), Bauhinia purpurea (L.), Corchorus capsularis (L.) and Dicranopteris linearis (L.) using the single screening in vitro microtiter plate dilution methods. The extracts, at the dose of 5 mu g mu L super(-1), were screened against various strains of Staphylococcus aureus, namely S. aureus 29213 alpha , S. aureus 33591, S. aureus 700699, vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Results: Interestingly, only the methanol extracts of D. linearis exhibited an antibacterial activity against all strains of S. aureus whereas all extracts of M. calabura were effective only against the S. aureus 29213 alpha , S. aureus 33591 and S. aureus 700699. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) for D. linearis range between 0.625-1.250 and 1.250-2.500 mu g mu L super(-1), respectively whereas for the M. calabura extracts the MIC and MBC range between 1.250-5.000 and 2.500-5.000 mu g mu L super(-1), respectively. Although the other plants gave negative results in this study, their potential antibacterial properties should not be disregarded as the present study was carried out using only one low concentration (5 mu g mu L super(-1)) and that the activity was determined using crude, but not pure, extracts. The present study demonstrated the potential of chloroform extract of D. linearis, which indicate the present of non-polar bioactive compounds, as VRSA antibacterial agents and all extracts of M. calabura as a potential source of antibacterial agents for the treatment of normal S. aureus infection.