The Efficacy of Essential Oil of Syzgymium aromaticum and Fixed Oil of Cocos nucifera on Some Selected Bacteria and Fungi

The recent failure of antibiotics in curbing the menace of multidrug resistance microorganisms has necessitated the search for alternative therapies from plant materials. Therefore, in this research work, the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oil of Syzygium aromaticum (clove) and fixed oil of cocos nucifera (coconut) were tested against selected bacteria and dermatophytes. The susceptibility of the isolates to conventional antibiotics was compared with that of the oils. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the oils was also determined. The isolates obtained were identified as Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Moraxella catarrhalis and the dermatophytes were Epidermophyton floccosum and Microsporum sp. The highest zone of inhibition by clove oil was recorded in Staphylococcus aureus with a zone of inhibition of 30 mm followed by Proteus mirabilis, Moraxella catarrhalis and Escherichia coli with 19 mm, 17 mm and 14 mm respectively while coconut oil could not inhibit all the bacterial isolates. Furthermore, clove oil had higher activity than coconut oil on the dermatophytes as it inhibited both isolates while coconut oil could not inhibit Epidermophyton floccosum. The MIC of clove oil on the dermatophytes was 3.125 mg/ ml. This result reveals the antimicrobial potential of the essential oil of clove and thus requires further enquiries into its pharmacokinetics, toxicity and dose regiment.

Author(s): Oluwaseyi E mmanuel Omodiminiyi1 , Peace Damilola Afolabi1 , Samson Marvellous Oladeji*2 , Sarah Olaide Bayode3 and Aminat Ibrahim4

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