Antibacterial activity of five selected ethno-medicinal plants against extreme multi-drug resistance strains of pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Emergence of multidrug resistance strains of different kinds of virulent pathogens to various antibiotics worldwide had become one of the most concerning public health issues in Nigeria. This research is aimed at evaluating the antibacterial activity of five selected ethno-medicinal plants against multi-drug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Ficus sycomorus, Vitex doniana, Jatropha curcas, Acacia nilotica and Prosopis africana leafs were extracted using chloroform, to get the crude extracts of the various plants material. Exactly 150 clinical and environmental samples each, was collected for the isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus each. The antibiogram profile and resistance level of the isolated strains was ascertained using the standard disc diffusion bioassay. Multi-drug resistance genes; BLA-TEM, BLA-SHV and CTX-M presence were evaluated and also served as another form of selection protocol for extremely resistant strains of the selected pathogenic bacterial species. In-vitro and in-vivo bioassay was done to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of the plants extracts on the most resistant strains of the two pathogenic bacteria. Tannins, saponin, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, quinones, phytosterols and phlobatanins were found present in these plants extracts. Eleven Pseudomonas aeruginosa and four Staphylococcus aureus extreme multi-drug resistance strains were successfully isolated and identified. The in-vitro bioassay reveals that F. sycomorus and J. curcas extracts has the highest antimicrobial activity against the various multi-drug resistant strains, while A. nilotica extract also maintains some level of activity against the resistant strains. The in-vivo bioassay reconfirmed the antibacterial effects of the three most active plants mentioned above, against all the resistant bacteria. Decoction of the three most active plants extracts also proves effective on the resistant strains of both bacteria, than the individual extracts. F. sycomorus, J. curcas and A. nilotica plant extracts could provide an alternative active pharmaceutical agents against multidrug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.