Screening for antibacterial and antibiofilm activities in Astragalus angulosus

• Published in: Journal of intercultural ethnopharmacology Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 50 - 57
• Main Authors: Kanaan, Hussein, El-Mestrah, Majid, Sweidan, Alaa, As-Sadi, Falah, Bazzal, Ali Al, Chokr, Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Ejmanager 01-01-2017
• Subjects: Original Research; minimal inhibitory concentration; Antibacterial; minimal bactericidal concentration; phytochemical screening; Astragalus angulosus; antibiofilm
• ISSN: 2146-8397; 2146-8397
• DOI: 10.5455/jice.20161018101720

In a search for finding novel therapeutic agents, extracts from an endemic Lebanese plant,
, were evaluated for their potential
antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against three Gram-positive bacterial strains;
(CIP444),
(ATCC25923), and
(ATCC29212); in addition to two Gram-negative strains,
(ATCC35218) and
(ATCC27853).
The plant was collected in April of 2013 and divided into several different portions, then its extracts were obtained by maceration using two different solvents. Extract analysis followed directly where microtiter broth dilution method was employed to assess antibacterial activity, while antibiofilm potential was tested using colorimetric method.
Whole plant ethanolic extract showed the highest bacteriostatic effect at a concentration of 12.78 mg/ml and also was the most versatile exerting its effect against 3 different strains. Other extracts also exhibited an effect but at higher concentrations and each against a single strain. Regarding antibiofilm activity, the majority of the extracts were able to eradicate >50% of
preformed biofilm, where the highest activity was obtained with flower fraction extracted in water, achieving 67.7% biofilm eradication at 0.2 mg/ml.
This plant possesses a promising potential in regard to eradicating bacteria and their biofilms and it is the first contributing step of establishing a library for the endemic Lebanese plants in this domain.