European Journal of General Medicine Medical Investigations Society ISSN: 1304-3897 Vol. 6, Num. 4, 2009, pp. 245-248

European Journal of General Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 4, October-December, 2009, pp. 245-248

Article

Antibacterial spectrum of umckaloabo (Pelargonium Sidoides) on upper airway infection agents

Hakan Uslu¹ , Ozgur Yoruk² , Ahmet Ayyıldız¹ , Bulent Aktan²

¹ Atatürk University Medical Faculty, Department of Microbiology, Erzurum/ Turkey
² Atatürk University Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Erzurum/Turkey

Correspondence Address: Özgür Yörük, Atatürk Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz Anabilim Dalı, Erzurum/TURKEY.
dryoruk_40@hotmail.com

Code Number: gm09050

Abstract

Keywords: Pelargonium sidoides, antibacterial activity, upper airway infection

Introduction

Almost in all countries of the world, the plants which are believed to be important for health are being used for centuries. According to the research of World Health Organization (WHO) based on the literature of herbs and codexes of 91 different coun-tries, the total amount of herbs is nearly 20.000 ^[1] . In different laboratories of most countries, the anti-microbial effects of herbs have been searched since 1926 ^{[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]} . Despite the improvement on medicine and technology at the present day, the widespread consumption of natural products and the economical crisis made herbs more effective and more purposive.

The drug, which is one of the best seller three drugs of Germany, rapidly increases the sales volume in last 2 years and contains "pelargonium sidoides" as ac-tive ingredient decreases the lenght of upper airway infection and flu, palliates the seventy of symptoms by improving the immun system ^[7] .

In classical textbooks, it can be seen that, the herb is antidiaretic and can also be used for airway dis-eases including tuberculosis ^[8] . The herb has been derivated from the roots of a special plant of Zulu, Basuto, Xhosa and Mfengi clans of South Africa, called Umckaloabo. It is used for especially upper airway infections, chest pain and gastrointestinal infec-tions in these clans ^[9] . Also, it is shown that, it has anti-adhesive properties against Helicobacter pylori ^[10] . The drug stops the disease at the onset by em-powering the immun system and protecting the cells against viruses differently from other flu drugs ^[11] . In vitro studies show that the drug has antibacterial and immunomodulator effects ^[12] .

Pelargonium sidoides is thought to have antibac-terial effects, especially against Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and Bacillus cereus^[2]. According to various studies, the antibacterial effect of the herb comes from its contents: coumarins and gallic acid. It is observed that, the minimal inhibitory concentra-tion is 200-1000 μg/mL ^[13] . Beside its antibacterial effect, it causes an increase of macrophage activity. Furthermore, it can improve the defense of the body because of the polychemical ingredients, vitamins and aminoacids present in its structure.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the antibacte-rial effect of the drug which is sold as gout form on markets, on different bacteria species isolated from the throat cultures of patients with upper airway infection.

Materials and Methods

In the study, we tested 192 different bacteria con-sisted of 72 Streptococcus spp. (32 S. pneumonia, 20 S. pyogenes, 20 S. viridans), 48 Stapyhlococcus spp. (24 S. aureus, 24 S. epidermidis), 32 Neisseriae spp., 20 Moraxella catarrhalis, and 20 Haemophilus influ-enzae species. All of the isolates were obtained from the throat cultures of patients who had been referred to Ataturk University Medical Faculty Otolaryngology Department with upper airway infection symptoms.

Antibacterial effect and if any, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the drug (UMCA^; solution addi-tives) against the test bacteria was determined using the modified microbroth dilution method described by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) ^[14],[15] . Suspensions equal to 0.5 McFarland turbidity (5 x 10 ⁵ cfu/ml) were made from the test bacteria in sterile saline. On the other hand the drug was seri-ally diluted in microplate wells beginning from the 1600 μg/ml to 200 μg/ml (1600 μg/ml, 800 μg/ml, 400 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml) using Mueller-Hinton broth, as the final volume in each well is 200 pl. Then 10 μl from the test bacterial suspension was added into the wells and mixed carefully. The plate was then incubated for 16-18 hours at 35°C. Following incuba-tion, growth was observed visually. It was stated that the drug has an antibacterial effect if no growth was detected in the first or first and the following wells. In this case the concentration of the drug in last well with no growth was determined as Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value. The drug was accepted as ineffective against relevant bacteria if there was growth in all the wells.

Results

Antibacterial effect was detected against 8 Neisseriae spp., 4 Haemophilus influenzae, 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae, 4 Staphylococcus epidermidis and 4 Moraxella catarrhalis species at concentrations of 200 pg/mL or higher levels [Table - 1]. No significant an-tibacterial effect was seen on the other bacterial species at all concentrations. MIC values of the drug differed between 200-1600 μg/mL. But it was 800 or 1600 μg/mL for most of the microorganisms (200 μg/ mL for 3, 400 μg/mL for 3, 800 μg/mL for 8, and 1600 μg/mL for 10).

Discussion

Pelargonium is a plant that African Zulu clan uses for thousand years as a herb. Although its homeland is South Africa, it is also known in our country and grown as Sardunya (geranium). Its name in Africa is Umckaloabo, and means "usefull for deep cough" in Turkish.

Umckaloabo has a strong immunomodulator effect. It stimulates the macrophages and natural killer cells of the immun system and increases the production of the cytokines, interferon and tumor necrosis factor ^[16] . Also, it helps the excretion of secretions ac-cumulated in airway ^[17] .

It is reported that, Pelargonium sidoide extracts have antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, beta-hemolytic streptococ-cus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Haemophilus influenzae species ^[12] . Thus, we considered that it would be useful for decreasing the treatment lenght and reducing the symptoms of the disease in Ear-Nose-Throat departments frequent illnesses, tonsillitis and rhino-sinusitis. ^[18],[19] .

In this in vitro study we found limited antibacterial effect in the drug containing pelorgonium sidoides against microorganisms isolated from the patients who applied to our department with symptoms of upper airway infection. The drug was effective on only the 24 of the tested 172 microorganism (14%). The drug was more effective against gram negative bacteria than gram positive. Also the MIC values were rather high. In a previous study conducted on 143 children with non-A beta-haemolytic streptococcus tonsillo-pharen-gitis, it was shown that pelargonium sidoides had better results than placebo, and it reduced the syp-mtoms and shortened the lenght of illness at least for 2 days ^[20] .

Similarly, in a placebo-controlled study with 468 adult who had acute bronchitis diagnosis, pelargonium sidoi-des had better results than placebo and shortened the time for turning back to work for at least 2 days ^[8] .

Additionally, it was reported that topical use of pel-argonium sidoides had antiviral effect against labial and genital herpes infections caused by Herpes sim-plex I and Herpes simplex II viruses and antibacterial effect against skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ^[12] . The drug has antibacterial effect at high concentrations but it has different results at different species of same kind. So, more in vivo and in vitro studies must be done to determine its efficacy.

The scientific datas with respect to antibacterial effect of pelargonium sidoides are hopeful, but it is not true to use Pelargonium instead of antibiotic treatments.^[21]

References

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