TITLE:
Inhibitory and Bactericidal Potential of Some Indigenous Functional Food-Plants Used in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality of South Africa
AUTHORS:
Collise Njume, Bomkazi M. Gqaza, Grace George, Nomalungelo I. Goduka
KEYWORDS:
Antimicrobial Resistance, Sensitivity Tests, Indigenous Leafy Vegetables, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.2 No.6,
August
22,
2014
ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial resistance is a major problem
in the management of infectious diseases. African indigenous functional
food-plants such as Chenopodium album and Solanum nigrum may constitute
important sources of phytochemical constituents for the synthesis of
antimicrobial compounds against infectious organisms. The objective of this
study was to determine the antimicrobial pro- perties of Chenopodium album and Solanum
nigrum-leaves used as functional food-plants in the O.R. Tambo district
municipality of South Africa. Organic and aqueous solvent-extracts of C. album
and S. nigrum were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Pseudomonas
aeruginosa (ATCC127853), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051), Escherichia coli
(25922) and Enterococcus faecalis (51299) using standard microbiological
techniques. Ciprofloxacin was included in all the experimental runs as positive
control antibiotic. The aqueous extracts of both plants were the most active
with zones of inhibition diameters ranging from 0 mm - 20 mm and minimum
inhibitory concentration (MIC50) values ranging from 0.63 mg/mL - 10 mg/mL. The
positive control antibiotic was highly active with zones of inhibition
diameters ranging from 17 mm - 31 mm and MIC50 values from 0.0003 mg/mL - 0.0005mg/mL
for all the bacteria tested. Both extracts were bactericidal with minimum
bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranges from 2.5mg/mL - 20mg/mL. From the results,
it can be concluded that both plants possess compounds with antimicrobial properties,
thus validating scientifically their use in traditional medicine. However, more
studies to document the respective plant-principles responsible for
antimicrobial activity of these plants would shed more light on their
functional properties.