The Antibacterial Activity of Catunaregam tomentosa Against Selected Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

Catunaregam tomentosa is a plant from Rubiaceae family that is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of stomatitis and ulcers due to bacterial infections. Besides, it also helps in the treatment of oliguria and dysuria. Indiscriminate use of commercial antibacterial medicines had led to the search for novel antibacterial drugs. Since for ages medicinal plants have been used to treat bacterial infection, so they can be excellent sources of the novel antibacterial drug. To evaluate the scientific basis of the use of plant, antibacterial activity leaves extract of C.tomentosa was investigated against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The study also investigated the effect of pH on its antibacterial activity. Antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by using the disc diffusion method at 100mg/mL concentration. Extracts of C. tomentosa inhibit the activity of S. aureus but do not inhibit the activity of Gram-negative bacteria. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was also determined against S. aureus at concentration 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6, 3, 1.5, 0.75 and 0.395mg/mL and 3mg/mL were the MIC value. Evaluation on the effect of different pH on antibacterial activity of plant extracts shows that the activity of the plant extracts does not affect when treated with acidic pH but increased at alkaline pH. Based on the present finding, C. tomentosa leaves extract have the potential to be a viable candidate in the discovery of a natural antibacterial agent against S. aureus infections. This study provides scientific knowledge to further determine the antibacterial values of C. tomentosa extracts.