IN VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THE AQUA EXTRACT OF PHYTOLACCA DODECANDRA ROOTS AGAINST LABORATORY STRAINS OF SELECTED HUMAN PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS
Date
2015-04Author
Anthoney, Swamy T
Obey, Jackie K
Miyogo, Edwin O
Terer, Erick
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The aim of this study is to test the antibacterial activity of the aqua extract of Phytolacca dodecandra roots against
Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Serratia
liquefaciens, Salmonella typhi and Enterobacter aerogenes. The agar well diffusion method was used to determine the zones
of inhibition by the extract, penicillin antibiotic (positive control) and sterile distilled water (negative control) against the
organisms. The extract showed the highest activity against Enterobacter aerogenes (16.333+0.882 mm), followed by Bacillus
cereus (14.33±0.333 mm), Escherichia coli (14.00±0.000 mm), Streptococcus pyogenes (13.00±0.000 mm). The zone of
inhibition against Serratia marcescens was 7.33±0.333 mm, considered inactive because it is less than 8 mm. All the other
organisms were not inhibited by the extract. The Tukey’s significant difference test showed significant differences with
most of the pair-wise comparisons while a few zones were not significantly different from the other. The results from this
study have shown that the aqua extract of P. dodecandra roots can inhibit both gram negative and gram positive bacteria in
vitro. The pharmacologic mechanisms of action of the active ingredients must be studied and the active components can be
considered for possible incorporation into conventional antibacterial drug production.