Abstract

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF PLANTS, SPICES AND HERBS AGAINST THE BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM CONTACT LENS

Maham Yazdani, *Musarrat Sharif, Wasif Ghias and Zonash Almas

Abstract

With the emergence of antibiotic era hardly five decades ago people are afflicted with global problem of increasing resistance in almost all pathogens. Due to the increasing infections and elevated rates of synthetic drugs along with their side effects medicinal plants are being used by 80% of population to treat various ailments. So the present study was designed to evaluate antibacterial effect of ethanolic extracts of plants, spices and herbs against the bacteria isolated from contact lens that cause severe infections to human eye. Antibacterial activity of thirty samples of ethanolic extracts of plants, herbs and spices was tested against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria isolated from 60 samples of contact lens that were taken from different sources by disc diffusion method with the measurement of diameter of zone of inhibition around each extract. The results showed the presence of antibacterial activity of almost all the plant, herbs and spices extract with a highest zone of inhibition of 40mm against S. aureus by Bacopa monnieri and Emblica officinalis plant extracts while Achillea millefolium extract was resistant against bacteria. Among spices extract turmeric extract showed largest inhibition zone of 35mm against Micrococcus luteus and most resistivity was also shown by turmeric extract against Bacillus sp, P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Herbs extracts showed a maximum zone of inhibition of 25mm against K. pneumoniae with mint extract whereas the most sensitivity was observed against M. luteus. All the samples exhibited antibacterial activity against S. aureus, M. luteus, Bacillus sp. P. aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli except Achillea millefolium plant that showed resistivity against all bacterial isolates.

Keywords: Contact lenses, pathogens, infection, herbs, spices, plants, prevention.