Asian Plant Research Journal

Aims: Over the past two decades, the rise of multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria has posed a significant threat to global health. The urgent need for new treatment alternatives has brought attention to the potential of plants, which harbor a wealth of unexplored phytochemicals with therapeutic properties. This study aims to evaluate the anti-bacterial efficacy of methanol and aqueous extracts from the leaves and bark of Horsfieldia iryaghedhi In vitro.

Methodology: Aqueous and methanol extracts were obtained from the cold maceration method. In vitro anti-bacterial activity of methanol and aqueous leaf, bark, and combination extracts were determined against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (ATCC® 25922) and gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC® 25923). The anti-bacterial assay for different concentrations of each extract was conducted through the well-diffusion method, with Gentamycin serving as the positive control.

Results: Methanol leaf and combination extracts of Horsfieldia iryaghedhi have shown a positive anti-bacterial response at their highest concentrations of 1000µg/mL and 500µg/mL against gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus while none of the extracts showed anti-bacterial activity against gram-negative E. coli at the experimented concentrations.

Conclusion: The study concludes that methanol extracts of H.iryaghedhi should be further analyzed for their anti-bacterial activity, and there could be potential lead molecules that can be developed as antibiotics.