The Antibacterial Activity of Borreria verticillata

Abstract

The in-vitro antibacterial activity of the crude extract of the leaf of Borreria verticillata was tested on Escherichia coli (NCTC 10418), Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC 6570) and some bacteria isolated from clinical specimens, namely, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis, by a broth dilution method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined using three different media, viz., nutrient broth/agar, glucose mineral salts broth/agar and Mueller-Hinton broth/agar. The extract showed antibacterial activity against all the organisms. In all the media used, the extract was most effective against S. aureus (MIC: 2 - 8 mg/ml) followed by S. epidermidis (MIC: 5 - 15 mg/ml), B. subtilis (MIC: 6 - 17 mg/ml), B. cereus (MIC: 10 - 20 mg/ml), E coli (MIC: 12 - 22 mg/ml), Proteus mirabilis (MIC: 14 - 26 mg/ml) and K. pneumoniae (16 - 28 mg/ml) while Pseudomonas aeru ginosa (MIC: 18 - 30 mg/ml) was the least sensitive. The MBC values showed a similar pattern with a two-fold increase over the MIC. There appears to be some corroboration between the results obtained from this study and its usage by herbal healers. However, further studies need to be carried out in order to determine the efficacy of this plant product in the treatment of human infections as well as the active compenents.