ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY OF HERBAL EXTRACTS & ESSENTIAL OILS FROM TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST BACTEROIDES FRAGILIS GROUP ISOLATED FROM CLINICAL SPECIMEN
Zomuanpuii Colney, Beena Antony*, Ramesh Kulkarni
ABSTRACT
Introduction: B fragilis group is one of the most frequently isolated anaerobic pathogens with the highest antibiotic resistance. They also exist as normal flora in the human gut and female genital tract. Due to empirical treatment and lack of monitoring, the incidence of drug resistant strains has increased and treatment has become challenging. The emergence of these resistant strains has created the demand for alternative drugs. Aim and objectives: To evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of various medicinal herbal extracts against B fragilis group. Materials and Methods: A total of 58 strains of B fragilis group were isolated from various clinical samples and identified according to standard procedures. The essential oils from medicinal plants were extracted using Neo-Clevenger apparatus and alcohol extracts by Soxhlet apparatus. Screening of the antimicrobial activity of herbal products was performed by employing disc diffusion technique. Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by agar dilution method. Results: Essential oils (lemongrass, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove bud, ginger, garlic) and Kokum extract (aqueous and alcohol) were tested for their antibacterial efficacy. Essential oils of Cinnamon, clove and lemongrass were very active to these organisms with a percentage of 98.2%, 96.5%, 89.6% respectively. The MIC ranges from 5μg/ml to 0.156μg/ml for cinnamon oil. Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated that herbal products exhibit good in vitro antimicrobial action against B fragilis group. The results suggest that they have high potential to open new avenues in the development of alternate therapeutic options.
Keywords: B fragilis group, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, essential oils, herbal extract.
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