Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Microbiology/Immunology/Virology
Anika Hamilton - Howard University
Antimicrobial resistance of bacteria is the etiological agent of many respiratory, stomach, and nosocomial infections. These drug-resistant bacteria are a serious concern today. These infections cause the death of thousands of men, women and children every year. This has led to the search for new alternatives to combat them. There is evidence, from several reported studies, regarding the ability of different compounds or extracts obtained from medicinal plants to inhibit microbial growth of bacteria. This ability is attributed to the plant’s chemical substances, which protect it from parasites and pathogens. The purpose of this work is to assess the antimicrobial action of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of 2 medicinal plants native to central Mexico: Chamaemelum nobile (manzanilla) and Amphipterygium adstringens (cuachalalate). Through cold maceration, vacuum filtration and the use of a rotary evaporator; the antimicrobial activity will be evaluated against 3 bacterial strains. The bacterial strains are as follows: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Kirby Bauer’s method will be used on plates of Mueller-Hinton agar. The diameters of inhibition will be observed after 24 hours of incubation at 37°C. I expect to observe antimicrobial inhibition of strains of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from both plant extracts. Antimicrobial activity was apparent in strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with aqueous extracts of manzanilla and cuachalalate. Further study of each plant is needed to determine optimum antimicrobial ability. Keywords: Antimocrobial activity, Chamaemelum nobile, Amphipterygium adstringens
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF
Faculty Advisor: Stacie LeSure, stacie.lesure@howard.edu
Role: I developed and conducted the experiment.