Inhibition of <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> by the extracts of indigenous plants from the Cordillera Region, Philippines

Abstract

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in the Philippines has a rich floral biodiversity and its people have been using various indigenous plants for various purposes including treatment of several ailments for a long time. Despite of such a rich bio-resource, very limited biodiversity studies have been done and the scientific basis for ethno-medicinal plants is not well-established. This study therefore aimed to test the antibacterial activity of 13 indigenous plants against <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>, an opportunistic pathogen that has attained serious therapeutic challenge in the fields of medicine and pharmacy. Standard Kirby-Bauer assay was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the selected indigenous plant extracts by measuring the zones of inhibition. Four out of the 13 plant extracts screened showed significant zones of inhibition namely: <em>Nepenthes alata</em> Blanco. (11.66 mm), <em>Bauhinia purpurea</em> L. (14 mm), <em>Ficus septica </em>Burm.f. (14.50 mm) and <em>Melastoma malabathricum</em> L. (10 mm). Moreover, <em>N. alata</em> Blanco obtained the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at 250 µg/mL. This study is one of few studies that were conducted to provide a scientific basis for the antibiotic potential of the indigenous folkloric plants from CAR.