<i>In vitro</i> antibacterial activity of <i>Pituranthos scoparius</i> from Algeria

Abstract

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide; the search for antimicrobial agents from plants has been a growing interest in the last few decades. In the present study, antibacterial properties of Pituranthos scoparius were explored. Aerial and root parts of the plant were extracted with a series of solvent of varying polarity including water, methanol, acetone and chloroform. The antibacterial activity of extracts was assessed by agar disc diffusion method and broth microdilution method against 14 Gram positive and Gram negative pathogenic bacteria. The extracts from the aerial parts have shown a better antibacterial activity than the root extracts. The acetone aerial part extract showed the highest activity (about 22 mm inhibition zone) against Proteus mirabilis, and a MIC of 1.04 mg/mL against Salmonella Typhimurium, followed by the methanolic aerial part extract (about 15mm inhibition zone), with a MIC of 1.56 against Enterococcus faecalis. The values of MIC obtained show that the extracts have weak activities since all MIC values are greater than 1 mg/ml, comparing with the references antibiotics. The findings of the study indicate that Pituranthos scoparius could be a new source of antibacterial natural drugs. In vivo studies remain necessary to ensure the antibacterial efficacy of the plant.

Keywords: Pituranthos scoparius, medicinal plants, extracts, disk diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration.