Antimicrobial activity of Acmella caulirhiza on Candida albican and Escherichia coli

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Egerton University, P. O. Box, 536 Njoro, Kenya

2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P. O. Box, 30197-00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Drug-resistant pathogens pose a big problem to the word today. Some infections resulting from drug-resistant pathogens do not respond to some of the drugs in the market today. This created a need for the development of drugs that are not resisted by the pathogens. This study was conceived with the aim of extracting antimicrobial compounds from Acmella caulirhiza. The Acmella caulirhiza plant was obtained from botanic garden in Egerton University. Plant extracts from leaves, stems, and flowers were obtained separately using methanol. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts against Candida albicans and Escherichia coli was carried out using Kirby Bauer’s disc diffusion technique. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was carried out using the microliter technique. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software. The means were separated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A P value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Acmella caulirhiza leaf, stem and flowers leaf extracts had antimicrobial properties against C. albicans and to E. coli. There is a need to further purify the antimicrobial metabolites from Acmella caulirhiza and determine the mechanisms for their action against E. coli and Candida albicans.

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