Screening for the antimicrobial properties of vegetable extracts on selected test microorganisms

• Main Authors: Legaspi, Marie Anne Gelique, Tiongco, Angelica Faith Y.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2011
• Subjects: Foliar diagnosis; Plant extracts > Analysis; Biology; Food Microbiology; Plant Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/5279
• Institution: De La Salle University

Six different vegetables locally available in the Philippine market were purchased from leading supermarkets in Metro Manila. These included Brassica juncea L. Czern. 1859 (Mustard), Ipomoea aquatica Forssk. 1775 (Water Spinach), Ocimum basilicum L. 1753 (Basil), Cucurbita maxima Duchesne. 1786 (Squash), Sechium edule(Jacq.) Sw. 1800 (Chayote), and Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. 1930 (Bottle Gourd). The leaf extracts of Water Spinach, Mustard, and Basil and the peel extracts of Squash, Chayote and Bottle Gourd were prepared using the solvent extraction method with Methanol, Ethyl Acetate, and Hexane as extracting solvents. The antimicrobial properties of the vegetable extracts were then screened using the disc agar diffusion method. The following test microorganisms were used: gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 49189. The results showed that all six vegetables exhibited antimicrobial activity on at least one test microorganisms. Mustard, Basil, Squash and Bottle Gourd exhibited inhibition on both E. coli and S. aureus. While Water Spinach inhibited both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, Chayote only inhibited S. aureus. Methanol extracts showed antimicrobial activities on the most number of test microorganisms.This study further validates the presence of antimicrobial agents in the different parts of the vegetables. This may lead to the discovery of cheaper yet equally effective chemotherapeutic drugs.