an investigation into the antibacterial activities of medicinal plants ...

ABSTRACT
Traditional medicine has a long history of being used for treating various ailments
ranging in severity. Although traditional medicine has typically been the health care
for the poorest levels of society, there is a worldwide growth in popularity. The
growing popularity of traditional medicine, termed the green boom, may be ascribed
to people taking a more holistic approach to maintain their health.
Traditional medicine is widely used on a regular basis by 70% of South Africans.
Various indigenous medicinal plants are used for the preparation of traditional herbal
medicine. These plants are mostly indigenous to the regions were it is used.
In this study four medicinal plants (Bulbine frutescens, Leonotis leounurus,
Melianthus major & Zantedecshia aethiopica) that are traditionally used in the
Eastern Cape region for treating burn wound infections, were collected for
investigation. The in vitro antibacterial activity of these plants was tested against
different bacterial strains of eight different bacteria. The bacteria used in this
investigation included bacterial strains of four Gram-positive bacteria, S. aureus,
methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), E. feacalis, S. pyogenes and four Gramnegative
bacteria, P. aeruginosa, A. baumanii, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis.
Traditional preparations as well as three different extracts (methanol, aqueous &
acetone) of the plants were used for in vitro antibacterial activity testing. The
microtitre plate assay and agar dilution assay were used for determining the
antibacterial activity of the traditional preparations and plant extracts against the
different bacterial strains. In the microtitre plate assay the antibacterial activity was
tested using the bacterial growth indicator, INT and a microtitre plate
spectrophotometer to determine the minimal inhibitory concentrations of the plant
extracts and traditional preparations.
The microtitre plate assay was used for testing the antibacterial activity of the plants
against the bacterial strains of five bacteria, S. aureus, MRSA, P. aeruginosa, A.
baumanii and K. pneumoniae. The bacterial strains of the three bacteria, S.
i