Potential of Leucas zeylanica extract to eliminate E. coli and S. aureus in Corbicula fluminea (“Etak”) tissue

Abstract

“Etak” or Corbicula fluminea, is a freshwater mollusc species regularly consumed as a popular snack among the Kelantanese in Malaysia. The “etak” is usually heated with traditional smoking process which is considered as half cooked and the smoked C. fluminea is commonly known as “etak salai”. This study focuses on the potential of Leucas zeylanica leaves extract to eliminate the bacteria content in “etak salai”. Extraction of bacterial genomic DNA was performed and confirmed the existence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in “etak salai”. Antibacterial properties of L. zeylanica leaves extract was identified using disc diffusion assay and the result obtained exhibit that 70 μg/μL of L. zeylanica extract was the optimum concentration to give the effect of 11 mm inhibition zone for E. coli and 15 mm inhibition zone for S. aureus. This finding proof that L. zeylanica leaves could be the ingredients in the paste for “etak salai” preparation.