Screening of the antimicrobial activity of some extracts of edible wild plants in Morocco

Abstract

Background: Despite the availability of cultivated food crops and processed food, a large part of the Moroccan population, more particularly the populations of rural areas, still depend on the traditional use of wild plants, which constitute an important component of their food system. However, there is a lack of information on these plants and their medicinal and pharmacological properties, this is why our study aims to detect the antimicrobial activity of certain wild edible plants. Methods: disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of extracts of Mercurialis annua L, Papaver rhoeas L, Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Chenopodium mural L, and Scolymus hispanicus L against the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas sp, and against the yeasts Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans Results: The results showed that the crudeextracts from all the plants studied showed more or less important antimicrobial activities on one or other of the pathogenic microorganisms tested, except for the extract of M. Annua, which showed no activity against all microbial strains. The highest antibacterial activity was observed for Scolymus hispanicus L extract against Escherichia coli (diameter of the inhibition zone: Ø=9mm), the highest antifungal activity was marked for Foeniculum vulgare Mill extract against Candida albicans (Ø=8mm), and the extract of Scolymus hispanicus L against Cryptococcus neoformans(Ø=8mm). Conclusion: These results reveal that, in addition to the role they play in the diet, the food plants studied have an additional biological value due to their bioactive compounds.