Antibacterial Activity of Heliotropium crispum Desf., an ethnobotanically identified herb of the Cholistan Desert, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Vollständiger Abstract

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This global dependency on the use of plant-derived pharmacological and chemical constituents with antibacterial properties necessitates the development of strategies to counter antibiotic resistance, which remains one of the most important issues in infection control. With this background, Heliotropium crispum Desf. has been identified as a prospective candidate for the development of alternative antibacterial agents. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antibacterial properties of the whole-plant extracts of Heliotropium crispum Desf. against various bacterial strains. The bacterial strains tested were Enterococcus, Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter, and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial activity of the Heliotropium crispum Desf. extracts was tested using the whole-plant powder extract of Heliotropium crispum Desf. in four different solvents: methanol, ethanol, chloroform, and aqueous. The antibacterial activity of the Heliotropium crispum Desf. extracts was tested using the disc diffusion method. The study found that the Heliotropium crispum Desf. extracts had strong antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens. However, none of the Heliotropium crispum Desf. extracts showed any antibacterial activity against the other bacterial strains tested: Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobacter junii, and Staphylococcus aureus. The study also tested various concentrations (25 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL, 150 mg/mL, 200 mg/mL) of the three solvents: methanol, ethanol, and aqueous. All the solvents tested had antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens. However, the chloroform solvent failed to show antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens. The antibacterial properties of the Heliotropium crispum Desf. extracts suggest that this plant may be developed into medicinal agents.