Screening of the Antimicrobial Activities of Some Plants Used Traditionally in Ethiopia for the Treatment of Skin Disorders

The antimicrobial activities of the extracts of the leaves of Jasminum abyssinicum (Oleaceae), and Solanecio gigas (Asteraceae); the leaves, seeds and fruit-flesh of Lagenaria siceraria (Cucurbitaceae), plants widely used in Ethiopian traditional medicine for the treatment of skin disorders, have been assessed in vitro on selected species of bacteria and fungi. The total extract was prepared by maceration with 80% methanol and agar-well diffusion method was used for antimicrobial activity tests. The results of this study revealed that all the extracts have activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes with the exception of the fruit-flesh of L. siceraria which showed no activity against clinical isolate S. aureus. The fractions of J. abyssinicum demonstrate less activity as compared to its crude whole extract. All the extracts failed to show any activity against Escherchia coli. Similarly following the method used in this study, the extracts were shown to be devoid of activity against Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Trichophyton mentagrophyte and the clinical isolate of Candida albicans. Keywords: antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, Jasminum abyssinicum, Lagenaria siceraria, Solanecio gigas Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal Vol. 24 (2) 2006: pp. 130-13