Journal of
Medicinal Plants Research

  • Abbreviation: J. Med. Plants Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0875
  • DOI: 10.5897/JMPR
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 3840

Full Length Research Paper

In-vitro assessment of antibacterial effects of combined crude extracts of S. glaucescens and C. swynnertonii with antibiotics

Mary George Ochollah
  • Mary George Ochollah
  • Department of Chemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3038, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Faith Philemon Mabiki
  • Faith Philemon Mabiki
  • Department of Chemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3038, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Lughano Jeremy Moses Kusiluka
  • Lughano Jeremy Moses Kusiluka
  • Mzumbe University, P. O. Box 1, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Robinson Hammerthon Mdegela
  • Robinson Hammerthon Mdegela
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3015, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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John Elmerdahl Olsen
  • John Elmerdahl Olsen
  • Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Stigbøjlen 4, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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  •  Received: 12 May 2022
  •  Accepted: 16 September 2022
  •  Published: 28 February 2023

Abstract

Currently, there is an upsurge of bacterial resistance in single-drug treatment regimens. This has stimulated a growing interest in research and development of new antibacterial agents containing several ingredients as one of the means to combat bacterial resistance. Herb-antibiotic combination therapy is one of the reported effective treatment regimens to combat antimicrobial resistance. This study was aimed to assess antibacterial effects of combined crude extracts of Synadenium glaucescens and Commiphora swynnertonii with antibiotics. In this study, three standard antibiotic drugs namely, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin and erythromycin in combination with crude extracts from S. glaucescens and C. swynnertonii were screened for antibacterial effects against two Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis and three Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli,  Klebsiella pneumonia  and  Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Broth microdilution technique was used to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) while Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) indices were calculated from MIC values of combined extracts to determine the combination effects. Synergism was observed when ciprofloxacin was combined with all tested crude extracts against  E. coli (ΣFIC of 0.02), combination of ciprofloxacin with extract from root barks of  C. swynnertonii  (ΣFIC of 0.5) against  S. aureus, root barks of  Synadenium glaucescens (ΣFIC of 0.1) against  S. aureus  and combination of ampicillin with all tested crude extracts (ΣFIC of 0.03-0.1) against  E.  faecalis. Moreover, antagonism was observed between the combinations of ampicillin and erythromycin with all tested crude extracts against Gram-negative bacteria (ΣFIC of 4-8). Therefore, the combinations which demonstrated synergism may be promising alternatives for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by E. coli, S. aureus and E. faecalis. However, in the future, toxicity studies for combinations which demonstrated synergism are recommended.

Key words: Antibacterial activity, antibiotic, crude extracts, herbs, synergism.