Antimicrobial properties of Lawsonia inermis syn. L.alba and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn in vivo and in vitro
Fatimah Abdul Rahiman
Malaysia
Abstract:
People in rural areas use plant materials to cure various diseases, because most of the plants contain components of therapeutic value. Among the important medicinal plants included Lawsonia inermis, syn. L. alba (henna) and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. (lotus). The henna plant extract has a variety of biological activities such as anticomplementary, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antimicrobial activities. Chemical compound in henna is lawsone (C10H6O3), the active ingredient and a naturally occurring naphthoquinone. While, lotus plant is known as a herbal medicine with strong bioactive ingredients such as alkaloids, flavonoids, antioxidants, antisteroids, anticancerous and antiviral properties. The aim of this paper is to investigate possible antimicrobial activities of henna and lotus and to compare the activities in vivo and in vitro. Tissue culture studies of henna and lotus were carried out, then, the antibacterial activities of raw, aqueous and ethanolic extracts of henna and lotus in vivo and in vitro, on some bacteria and fungal strains, were screened using the modified agar well diffusion method and a broth microdilution method. The minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined for all the investigated microorganisms. Data were expressed as mean±standard deviation. Research on In vivo and In vitro plants were compared because previous studies on plant tissue cultures, showed that it has potential as a supplement to traditional medicine, especially in the industrial production of bioactive compounds from plants.
Keywords: Tissue culture, antibacterial activity, ethanolic extracts, agar well diffusion method, broth microdilution method, bioactive compounds
