Antibacterial activity of clove oil against some microorganisms at Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

Microorganisms have increased and that may cause some health problems, so it has become necessary to find out new antibacterial agents. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study aiming to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Syzygium aromaticum against selected bacteria at Khartoum State, Sudan. The essential oil of S. aromaticum was obtained by hydrodistillation technique using Clevenger’s apparatus and was screened for in vitro antibacterial activity against four standard bacteria two Gram positive: Bacillus subtilis (NCTC 8236) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and two Gram negative: Eschericia coli (ATCC 25922) and Psuedomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), using the cup plate agar diffusion method and the micro-dilution method. The essential oil of S. aromaticum dissolved in methanol (1:10) showed high activity (28 and 22 mm) against Gram positive bacteria (S. aureus and B. subtilis) and (26 and 21 mm) against Gram negative bacteria (E. coli and P. aeruginosa). The minimum inhibitory concentration of the essential oil of S. aromaticum against Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) was 0.78 mg/ml and against the Gram negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) was 1.5 mg/ml. The minimum bactericidal concentrations of the essential oil of S. aromaticum against (B. subtilis, S. aureus and E. coli were 3.125 mg/ml and P. aeruginosa) was 6.25 mg/ml. The result of antibacterial activity of the essential oil was compared with the activity of reference drugs. The essential oil of the S. aromaticum possessed antibacterial activity against the Gram positive and Gram negative organisms which are responsible for several diseases. It is recommended that pharmacological, toxicological and clinical studies be carried out on the essential oils of the clove Syzygium aromaticum to assess its safety, therapeutic efficacy and potential for commercial utilization.

Keywords: In vitro, antibacterial activity, essential oil, Syzygium aromaticum, Khartoum State.