Abstract

The antibacterial activities of different Southern Thailand medicinal plant formulas as well as their medicinal plant components were tested against skin and wound pathogens, includingStaphylococcus epidermidis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli, MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and MDR Acinetobacter baumannii.  Nine medicinal plant formulas consisting of 41 medicinal plants were chosen on the basis of their traditional use against skin infections. The preliminary antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extracts formula was carried out by disc diffusion test. The extracts which showed inhibitory effect were further investigated for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the broth microdilution method. Eight formulas were found to inhibit the growth of at least one of the tested pathogens with inhibition zones ranging from 7.5 to 21.0 mm. THR-SK004 and THR-SK005 extracts displayed broad spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Results indicated that THR-SK004 and its medicinal components, Metroxylon sagu Rottb. andOroxylum indicum Vent.  exhibit good antibacterial activity with MIC values in the range of 30 to 1,000 µg/ml.  This antibacterial property tends to support the use of traditional medicine in the treatment of bacterial skin infections. 

Key words: Antibacterial activity, medicinal plant formulas, medicinal plant, traditional Thailand medicine