Antimicrobial Activity of the Seed Extracts of Carthamus tinctorius, Moringa oleifera and Jatropha curcas on Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In the last decade, the resistance in pathogenic bacteria has been increasing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of water, ethanol and the hexane seed extracts of Carthamus tinctorius (C. tinctorius), Moringa oleifera (M .oleifera) and Jatropha curcas (J. curcas). Methodology: The agar disc diffusion method was used in vitro to determine the zone of inhibition (ZI) against four different species of pathogenic bacteria [Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and Salmonella spp (S. spp)]. Three different concentrations of the extracts were subjected to these organisms. Results: Results of the present study showed that the ethanolic extracts (50%) of Jatropha, Carthamus and Moringa seeds observed a significantly (p<0.05) higher zone of inhibition (5.9±0.1, 1.8±0.02 and 1.03±0.00 mm, respectively) against E. coli, compared with other extracts. However, the hexane extract (30%) of Carthamus revealed the lowest zone of inhibition on S. spp (0.5±0.00 mm). Conclusion: These findings indicate that J. curcas, C. tinctorius and M .oleifera has the potential to inhibit and control the growth of pathogenic bacteria.