Antibacterial and Anticandidal Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Immature Flower Buds of Syzygium aromaticum

Abstract

Microbial resistance to antibiotics has been raised over time, creating a serious burden and an issue that requires a quick response. As a result, interest has shifted to medicinal plants as natural, effective, and cost-efficient alternatives. The goal of this study was to assess the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the dried buds of the clove’s flowers, which were extracted in 250 ml of ethanol using the Soxhlet apparatus. Subsequently, DMSO stock solutions were utilized to create concentrations of 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, and ultimately 3.125 mg/ml. Following that, the agar-well diffusion technique was utilized for the evaluation of the antibacterial activities of the clove extract against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Group A Streptococcus bacteria) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), as well as Candida albicans, isolated and identified through the pediatric hospital's medical laboratory west of Gaza city. Lastly, the results of this study clearly showed that the ethanolic extract of dried immature flower buds of clove has anti-S. aureus and anti-group A Streptococcus effects, as well as for the C. albicans used in the present study, with the exception of E. coli, which demonstrated resistance to the plant extract at all concentrations tested. While the lowest concentrations that showed anti-bacterial activity were revealed to be 12.5 and 25 mg/ml for anti-S. aureus and anti-group A Streptococcus, respectively, with inhibition zone diameters of 2 and 1 mm, on the other hand, 25 mg/ml with a 2 mm inhibition zone was determined to have the lowest concentration that had anti-C. albicans activity. This study concluded that cloves can be employed as a plant with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal characteristics, but additional research is required.