Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of some medicinal plantsagainst methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureues

Abstract

The objective of this study is, first to report the prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureues (MRSA) infections and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns in Teaching and Emergency Hospital in Erbil city, and second to screen four medicinal plants: Eucalyptus globulus, Anethum graveolens, Prosopis farcta and Ficus carica (both aqueous extract and ethanolic extract) for potential antibacterial activity against MRSA isolates , then screening the phytochemical properties of these plants. Out of total 110 strains of Staphylococcus aureues isolated from different clinical specimens, 15 (13 .6%) were found to be methicillin resistant. All MRSA strains were found to be resistant to penicillin and gentamycin while 86.66% were resistant to cephalothin ,doxycyclin and tobramycin. However, no strains were resistant to vancomycin. Determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were performed using micro broth dilution method. The MIC/MBC of aqueo.us and ethanolic extracts of E. globulus against MRSA isolates were 25/12.5 mg/ml and 6.25/3.125 mg/ml respectively, while of P. farcta were 100/25 mg/ml and 25/12.5 mg/ml respectively. The results also revealed that extracts of F. carcia were inactive against MRSA. Preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins and phenols in almost all the crude extracts followed by alkaloids and resins, while the glycosides was not detected in any extracts of the four plants tested.