Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 1(5): 370-375

Antibacterial activities of selected medicinal plants in traditional treatment of human wounds in Ethiopia

Objective

To evaluate the activity of selected Ethiopian medicinal plants traditionally used for wound treatment against wound-causing bacteria.

Methods

Samples 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.

Results

Most 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.

Conclusions

This 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.

^{Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia}

^{ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia}

*Corresponding author: Biruhalem Taye, Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tel: +251 11 2763091, Fax: +251 11 2755296, E-mail: moc.oohay@tmelahurib

Received 2011 Mar 21; Revised 2011 Apr 8; Accepted 2011 Apr 24.

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the activity of selected Ethiopian medicinal plants traditionally used for wound treatment against wound-causing bacteria.

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Medicinal plants, Human wounds, Ethiopia, Agar well diffusion, Micro titer plate, Plant extracts

Abstract

Acknowledgments

We thank the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathology (ALIPB), Addis Ababa University, for the financial and material support to conduct this study. Our thanks also go to ALERT /AHRI Laboratory and EHNRI for allowing us to use their laboratory facilities.

Acknowledgments

Footnotes

Foundation Project: Supported by Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University.

Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

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