Studies on the Antibacterial Effect of Different Fractions of Curcuma longa Against Urinary Tract Infection Isolates

Abstract

Curcuma longa belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, commonly known as turmeric. Antibacterial activity of ionic, oil, resins and ethanolic fractions of turmeric was checked against both gram positive and gram negative Urinary Tract Infection isolates. Sixty-five bacterial strains were isolated from urine of patients suffering from urinary tract infection and identified by conventional methods. Eighty percent of total isolated organisms were found to be gram negative while remaining 20% were gram positive. Ionic, resin and ethanolic fractions of turmeric were found to possessed antibacterial activity against S. saprophyticus, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. pyogenes, E. faecalis and B. subtilis while oil fraction exhibited no activity against the same organisms. No activity of any of the four fractions was found against gram negative isolates. The antibacterial activity of turmeric was also compared with fifteen standard antibiotics. Comparative study of turmeric fractions with standard antibiotics showed that ionic, resin and ethanolic fractions of turmeric are 100% effective against all tested gram positive organisms, which are resistant to most of the broad-spectrum antibiotics used.