Evaluation of the antibacterial activity of Cymbopogon citratus in bacterial gastroenteritis

Abstract

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has led to the need for newer classes of antimicrobial agents. Herbal medicines provide one of the preferred route to drug discovery due to their chemical diversity. This study aims to evaluate the activity of Cymbopogon citratus in the treatment of bacterial gastroenteritis. Aqueous and methanol extracts of C. citratus were used in the study. Ciprofloxacin (a broad spectrum antibiotics and a drug of choice in bacteria gastroenteritis) was used as the standard drug. Multi-drug resistant clinical strains of Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used in the study. The aqueous extract of C. citratus showed no antibacterial activity against any of the test organisms. However, all the organisms were susceptible to the methanol extract and the standard drug. Inhibition Zone Diameters and Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations were used in the evaluation. C. citratus could serve as a source of antimicrobial agent.