Studies on the antimicrobial potential of plant extract of banana (Genus Musa) in Indonesia

Abstract

The positive impact of the discovery of antibiotics coupled with advances in the development of antimicrobial drugs has improved human health. Unfortunately, prolonged use of antibiotics has increased microbial resistance. That is why research to find natural ingredients that have the potential to be developed into plant-derived antimicrobial drugs continues to be carried out throughout the world. Among the plants that have been intensively studied for their antimicrobial properties are bananas of the Genus Musa (family Musaceae). In Indonesia, in the last decade there have been quite a lot of studies on the antimicrobial properties of banana plant extracts. Bananas are known to contain a variety of bioactive compounds that are antimicrobial, such as: lycopene, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, anthocyanins. Microbes that have been proven to be affected with crude extracts of banana plants are fungi such as Trichophyton rubrum, Candida albicans and Pityrosporum ovale and bacteria such as Enterococcus faecalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus plantarum, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Enterococcus faecalis. Therefore it can be concluded that banana plants can be used as a source of plant-derived antimicrobial medicine.