Antimicrobial activities of Combretum micranthum extracts on Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from skin infections and some reference strains

Combretum micranthum, is an exotic medicinal plant used generally in African pharmacopoeia and particularly in Benin against several bacterial infections. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves of this plant, were tested in vitro on 70 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from three skin infections (pus, furuncles and abscesses) and 10 reference strains (9 bacteria and 1 yeast), by agar diffusion method. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) have been determined by the macrodilution method. Phytochemical screening of the C. micranthum leaves powder revealed the presence of catechol and gallic tannins, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids and triterpenoids. The two extracts had effect on both Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria. The inhibitory diameter is larger with the ethanol extract (23.5 ± 0.7 mm for S. aureus) than ethyl acetate extract (21 ± 14 mm for S. aureus ) with significant variation (p < 0.0001). These extracts are more active on strains isolated from furuncles than those isolated from abscesses and pus (p ˂ 0.05). The difference of MIC and MBC was not significant (p > 0.05). The C. micranthum leave is a good candidate for research into the antimicrobial active compounds in order to develop a drug for the treatment of various skin infections and particularly the furuncles.

Author(s): Nounagnon S Martial, N’tcha Christine, Sina Haziz, Noumavo A Pacôme, Durand Dah-Nouvlessounon, Assogba M Fidèle, Gbénou D Jochim and Baba-Moussa Lamine*

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