Antibacterial, antifungal and synergistic effect of Lawsonia inermis, Punica granatum and Hibiscus sabdariffa

The increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance, as a result of extensive antibiotic use, may render the current antimicrobial agents insufficient to control, at least, some bacterial infections. The concept of this research is based on the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad “peace be upon him” of using Henna as a medication for wounds. The aim of this study is to investigate the antimicrobial and antifungal activity of Lawsonia inermis, Punica granatum, and Hibiscus sabdariffa and to examine the synergistic effect of mixing plant extracts with antibiotic. By extraction 30g of grounded plant extract with 500ml from the solvent by soxhlet apparatus (soaked the grounded plant in solvent 72h). The antibacterial and antifungal activities were investigated by using sensitivity test on Mueller Hinton agar and Potato Dextrose agar, respectively. The methanolic extract of Punica granatum showed the highest antibacterial activity especially against Staphylococcus aureus, while, Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli showed the least sensitivity to the same extract. Association of antibiotics and plant extract showed synergistic antibacterial activity especially with Ciprofloxacin and Erythromycin on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The activity of Ketoconazole and Fluconazole drugs was highly increased after mixing with the aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa. The Nystatin antifungal showed higher activity when mixed with plant extract. In conclusion, all tested plants extracts showed potential antimicrobial activity against the tested pathogens. The synergistic effect against fungi was more clear and higher from the effect