Background: Increase in the emergence of drug - resistant pathogens led to the development of natural antimicrobials. In this study the
antimicrobial effect of methanolic extracts of
Sambucus ebulus
and
Urtica dioica
on 16 skin and wound infections isolates of methicillin resistant
S. aureus
have been studied.
Material and Methods: Solvent extraction procedure was done using soxhlet apparatus for extracting antimicrobial agents from freeze dried
plants. Antibacterial activity was measured using agar well diffusion method.
Results: The MIC of
Sambucus ebulus and
Urtica dioica extracts against the standard strain of
S. aureus ATCC 6538 were determined using the
micro dilution method at 15 mg and 20 mg respectively. All the test bacteria were found sensitive to the
Sambucus ebulus extract and only one
isolate was resistant to
Urtica dioica extract.
Conclusion: Extracts of
Sambucus ebulus and
Urtica dioica possess antibacterial potency against MRSA isolates and may be used as a natural
antiseptics and antimicrobial agents in medicine.
