Antibacterial activity of the root extracts of draceana laxissima and draceana fragrans on selected urinary tract pathogens

Abstract

Introduction: Over 150 million people are diagnosed with urinary tract infections (UTI) each year. The prevalence rate for UTIs in the Ugandan population was estimated to be at 1 in 33 or 3.03%. The main causal organisms of UTIs in Uganda are Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis. The emerging resistance of the above organisms to commonly used medicines like quinolones and penicillin’s has forced scientists to look for newer antibacterial agents. Extracts from Dracaena species have been used worldwide for many generations in the management of such infections. So these plant could be a possible alternative in the management of urinary tract infections. Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activity of the root extracts of Draceana Laxissima and Draceana Fragrans on selected urinary tract pathogens. Methods: In this study, Plant materials were collected and cleaned according to the standard plant collection procedures. Extraction was by cold maceration and concentration was either by rotary evaporator or freeze drying. The phytochemical screening was carried out using standard methods. Nathans Agar well diffusion method was used for sensitivity test. The toxicity of the Dracaena species was also determined using standard methods Results: The Phytochemical screening of the roots of the selected plants shows that the plants contain alkaloids, tannins and saponins. Both the methanol and water extracts of Dracaena laxissima and Dracaena fragrans showed no antibacterial activity against all the three test organisms’ i.e. S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa. No zones of inhibition were identified. The acute toxicity (LD50) of both plants was estimated to be above 16,000mg/kg suggesting that the extract was very safe since its LD50 value was more than 1000mg/kg . Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that the methanolic and water extracts of the roots of Dracaena laxissima and Dracaena fragrans have no antibacterial effect against E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa.