The antimicrobial efficacy of elaeis guineensis : characterization, in Vitro and in Vivo studies

The urgent need to treat multi-drug resistant pathogenic microorganisms in chronically infected patients has given rise to the development of new antimicrobials from natural resources. We have tested Elaeis guineensis Jacq (Arecaceae) methanol extract against a variety of bacterial, fungal and yeast strains associated with infections. Our studies have demonstrated that E. guineensis exhibits excellent antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo against the bacterial and fungal strains tested. A marked inhibitory effect of the E. guineensis extracts was observed against C. albicans whereby E. guineensis extract at =, 1, or 2 times the MIC significantly inhibited C. albicans growth with a noticeable drop in optical density (OD) of the bacterial culture. This finding confirmed the anticandidal activity of the extract on C. albicans. Imaging using scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy was done to determine the major alterations in the microstructure of the extract-treated C. albicans. The main abnormalities noted via SEM and TEM studies were the alteration in morphology of the yeast cells. In vivo antimicrobial activity was studied in mice that had been inoculated with C. albicans and exhibited good anticandidal activity. The authors conclude that the extract may be used as a candidate for the development of anticandidal agent.<br /

ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION AND IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF THYMUS CAPPADOCICUS BOISS.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the phenolic contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanol extract (ME), ethanol extract, water extract (WE) and essential oil of Thymuscappadocicus Boiss. The essential oil composition of a hydrodistilled essential oil of T.cappadocicus was analyzed by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry system. Thymol (70.82%), p-cymene (9.52%), -terpinene (9.27%) and carvacrol (4.65%) were found to be the main constituents. Several potential antioxidant activities, including phosphomolybdenum, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and -carotene bleaching activity, were evaluated. ME was found to be the most active free radical scavenger. In the -carotene-linoleic acid system, the extracts and essential oil exhibited strong inhibition against linoleic acid oxidation. The essential oil and extracts were also screened for their antimicrobial activity against 15 microorganisms. The results showed that the essential oil of T.cappadocicus had great antimicrobial activity potential against microorganisms tested. In contrast, the WE showed no antimicrobial activity