Antibacterial activity of curcuma longa, opuntia ficusindica and linum usitatissimum

Abstract

Extensive research is being conducted to investigate the various characteristics of medicinal plants and their potential for use as alternative and safe treatment against bacteria and other microorganisms. Curcuma longa (curcumin), Opuntia ficus-indica (cactus) and Linumusitatissimum (flaxseed) are three widely available medicinal plants that are used in several countries for treating a wide variety of health problems. This study was designed to test the ability of crude, aqueous and methanolic extracts of these plants to inhibit the growth of four multi-resistant clinical bacterial isolates: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results showed that the crude and aqueous extracts of O. ficus-indica were capable of inhibiting the growth of all the tested bacterial strains at a concentration of 0.1mg/ml. The crude and aqueous extracts of C. longa and L. usitatissimum did not show any inhibitory effect on the growth of any of the bacterial strains, at the concentrations used in the study. The methanolic extract only of Curcuma longa was capable of inhibiting the growth of all the bacterial strains used starting from a concentration of 0.25mg/ml, with an increasing inhibitory effect with the increase in the concentration of the extract. The methanolic extract of O. ficus-indica had no inhibitory effect on the growth of any of the bacterial strains while the methanolic extract of L. usitatissimum enhanced the growth of all of the bacterial strains when the concentration of the extract was 0.15mg/ml or more. Further work is recommended to build up on the results reported in this study