Antibacterial activity of camel whey in combination with various medicinal plant extracts

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial potential of ethanol and water extracts from Ballota undulata, Ruta chalepensis and Urtica urens in combination with camel whey proteins. The bioactivity of all samples was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Disk diffusion method was used to examine the antibacterial potential for all combinations. For further antibacterial investigation, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured by micro-broth dilution method. The obtained results showed that ethanol extracts of B. undulata and R. chalepensis were the most active. Synergistic antibacterial activity was observed for whey and ethanol extracts of B. undulata and R. chalepensis. The MIC and MBC values for these two combinations against S. aureus were equal to 1.56 and 12.5 mg/ml respectively. The obtained results form a platform for further studies on other combinations between camel whey and other plant extracts.