Effective medicinal plants against enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

The stimulating effect of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on the production of verocytotoxin (VT) by enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 has been claimed. The purpose of this study was to find an alternative, but bioactive medicine for the treatment of this organism. Fifty-eight preparations of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of 38 medicinal plant species commonly used in Thailand to cure gastrointestinal infections were tested for their antibacterial activity against different strains of Escherichia coli, including 6 strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Escherichia coli O26:H11, Escherichia coli O111:NM, Escherichia coli O22; 5 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from bovine; and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Inhibition of growth was primarily tested by the paper disc agar diffusion method. Among the medicinal plants tested, only 8 species (21.05%) exhibited antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli O157:H7. Acacia catechu, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Quercus infectoria, Uncaria gambir, and Walsura robusta demonstrated antibacterial activity with inhibition zones ranging from 7 to 17 mm. The greatest inhibition zone against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (RIMD 05091083) was produced from the ethanolic extract of Quercus infectoria. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by the agar microdilution method and agar dilution method in petri dishes with millipore filter. Both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Quercus infectoria and aqueous extract of Punica granatum were highly effective against Escherichia coli O157:H7 with the best MIC and MBC values of 0.09, 0.78, and 0.19, 0.39 mg/ml, respectively. These plant species may provide alternative but bioactive medicines for the treatment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.